Crazy in Love
by ChellyBellyBeanBag
Summary: Team Kakashi has finally captured Uchiha Sasuke and his renegade band of missing-nins. The Rookie 9 can't get anymore enthusiastic. Hyugga Hinata can't help but share their happiness. But among this team is a fascinating shinobi who needs her expertise.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue:**

**Retrieval Mission, Report for The Godaime Hokage Tsunade:**

**Mission: A Rank**

**Target: Team Hebi**

**Casualties: None**

**Injuries: Minimal**

**Subject A: Uchiha Sasuke: **

**Height: 6'2**

**Weight: 210**

**Age: 23**

**Injuries: rasengan burns, broken rib, minor concussion, dislocated shoulder, and minor scratches. **(Teme asked for it.)

**Status: grudgingly cooperative**

**Subject B: Karin (no name): **

**Height: 5'8**

**Weight: 120**

**Age: 25**

**Injuries: broken nose, several critical gashes, head trauma, minor bruises, and a small skull fracture, broken jaw, concussion. **(Can I get a hell yeah for the kickers of fugly slut ass!!?)

**Status: Uncooperative**

**Subject C: Hozaki Suigetsu**

**Height: 5'11**

**Weight: 200**

**Age: 24**

**Injuries: jaw fracture, broken bones. **

**Status: Cooperative **

**Subject D: Juggo (no name):**

**Height: 7'0**

**Weight 270**

**Age: 24**

**Injuries: broken wrist**

**Status: Cooperative.**

**Mission Status: Successful. **

Sincerely- TEAM KAKASHI Believe it!

Amber eyes surveyed the short report before her. A smile touched her lips at the enthusiastic scribbles written here and there. These kids were still the same. "I guess it's time to break the news to them." she murmured. What a day for Team Seven this would be. What a day for Konoha itself. "So it begins." The older woman took another drink of sake. Things in the village were about to get interesting. For now there was the issue of dealing with these prisoners of hers. "Shizune!" she called, slapping down the file onto her large desk. "Hai Hokage-sama." the assistant came right away standing dutifully.

"Double the guard in the Konoha prison we have S-ranked missing-nins heading there now! And tell Naruto and Sakura to stop making all that noise outside." she smiled faintly at the sound of the Rookie nine going crazy in front of the Hokage Tower. Naruto's voice leading their chanting proudly and enthusiastically. "We're all happy about this success but we don't want to disturb the peace." she added softly. "I want interrogators to be ready for the Uchiha, after he leaves the hospital." she ordered. Shizune was attentively writing everything down as the Godaime spoke. "Subject D is mentally unstable according to Sakura and Naruto, they wish to grant him some amount of leniency, but they also say that his main problem is the curse-seal.. Kakashi confirmed that 'it's the seal that makes him dangerous'." she murmured. "Yamato says that he is not consciously a threat." Shizune nodded. "I need to learn more about his seal…do you think I can make it's power dormant?" she stroked her chin. "Perhaps the Uchiha can enlighten us." Shizune proposed. "Add that onto the info-list for the interrogation." Tsunade conceded motioning with one hand. "Hai." Shizune nodded again. "Good, and I want you to send escorts to take the hospitalized member so Team Hebi into their carefully built cells." she finished her orders. "Now go! Hustle!" she shooed her secretary away.

As soon as she was gone and her foot-steps subsided, Tsunade pulled an entire bottle of sake out from under her desk. With a mischievous chuckle she downed a mouthful. "Ha." she smirked. "Let's celebrate this success my old friend." she spoke to a picture of the deceased Jiraiya. She was the only Sannin left…it felt…odd, and lonely to boot. Well she was old, she'd soon be joining the Toad-sannin soon enough. "To more surprises and turns of events that will drive us all insane." she held up the bottle and downed some more. Shizune would scold her to death for this. The chanting outside still had not stopped yet. Chances were that Kakashi and Yamato had already tried to quiet them down the moment it started…but it was no use. They were happy and determined to express it. Once the Rookie-9 decided something there was no stopping them. It was never a truer statement than it was at that moment either. It went quiet every once in a while before they would start cheering and chanting something new. She'd give it few more minutes until she went out there to kick their asses herself. Perfect day. Now for some research.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter one: Welcoming Party**

"Have you been experiencing any discomfort Neji-kun?" Hyugga Hinata placed her hands on her older cousins temples to get a better feel of his chakra. Strange how she was comfortable enough to not stutter so much around him. A long time ago Hyugga Neji was one of the people who hated her the most. Sometimes she wondered whether or not he might have actually killed her if he were given the opportunity. Now…well he was her most loyal bond. "Just mild head-aches." he answered evenly sitting still. The seal on her cousin's forehead had become a big topic of controversy for herself. It was heart breaking that her father treated Neji as he did. These thoughts led her to reminisce on how she had studied various forbidden jutsus and techniques alike. Her goal was to find out just how to get rid of her father's seal on him.

It had been an adventure in itself…she had even gotten Kiba and Shino in on it. When Neji had first heard of her idea he was skeptical. He had never been one to take the Hyugga heiress very seriously. But then…he agreed to let her test out her theory on him. It worked! So far that is. She was monitoring his progress just in case complications arose. Her father of course discovered this and moved to quell her efforts….and that was how it happened.

_**Flashback: **_

"You are a disgrace, Hinata." Hiashi hissed at his daughter with disgust. "I have never truly believed it as much as I do now." There was murmuring as Hyugga Hiashi's eldest daughter stood before him with her cousin…the orphaned Neji stood just one step behind her. Hinata's throat was parched and she wrung her hands, unsure whether it was out of rage or fear. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded. There was a long pregnant silence as she stood staring at the ground. "Answer." he said in such a harsh tone that she winced.

After a moment she slowly allowed her usually tender lavender eyes to meet his passively. "W-..what…bothers you more about Neji father?…is it that he is of a lower branch or..th-that he has-s brought more honor to our clan's name than you could ever hope to." her tone was low and angry. Very angry.

"You dare speak to me in such a manner?" he asked calmly. "Do you know why we have these seals?" he inquired her. He was surprised by his daughter's sudden aggression…as passive as it seemed. "I-I…" she trailed and seemed in deep thought. _'I will not be weak…stop stuttering and do this!' _she told herself in her mind. She spoke up again. "I don't care about whatever traditions you have to tell me about our branches, we are _all _of the title Hyugga." she stated. He stared incredulously at her radical frame of mind. Whispers traveled along. She could feel Neji's eyes boring into her back. Approvingly or not she did not know.

"You're methods of running our clan are out-dated…my desire…is to clean this place up." she looked around. She was horrified and impressed by her own valor. Could she be a good leader after all. "What are you implying exactly Hinata?" Her father's voice interrupted her racing thoughts. Once again the sweet little Hinata had to work up her nerve. She clenched her fists to her sides…body quaking. _'Just do it.' _she told herself. "F-father…I… am taking over command of the clan early…and by early, I m-mean now. _now._" she felt her heart protest against such audacity as it pounded rapidly in her chest cavity like a maddening thing. There were gasps and she swore she heard Neji shift his footing behind her.

A pregnant silence. A terrifying silence. The longest silence poor Hinata had ever endured in her life. She gulped awaiting the inevitable negative reaction. To her slight puzzlement and hurt there was laughter. Hiashi was laughing at her. Did he truly think so little of her? Tears prickled. He would take her seriously. White eyes looked down at her with mirth. "Take over?" he raised a brow. "Foolish little girl…do you honestly think you can handle the ways of the Hyugga clan?" he scoffed. "I am still your daughter." she answered softly. More laughter. "And who pray tell, do you think is going to stand behind you in this? Who do you have to support this?" he demanded looking around.

The next silence that followed felt like a knife in her chest. She should have known her family would have no faith in her. She was always the laughing stock of her own clan. _'Stupid, stupid, girl!' _she scolded herself repeatedly in her head. There was movement suddenly. She flinched as a strong hand firmly gripped her shoulder. "She has me." Neji stated boldly staring defiantly. _'Neji…' _she stared at him. Hiashi looked angry staring at him. _'He takes Neji more seriously.' _she thought sadly. "You…" he was cut off when suddenly Hyugga Hanabi stood beside her older sister. "And me as well." she said decidedly. Seeing the best members of their clan stand up behind the young heiress the entire lower branch lost all sense of fear and joined the trio. Hinata had never felt like she had been in more shock.

Pearly eyes wide as she looked around her. All of these people believed in her? She nearly had a heart-attack when the higher branch members joined the fray. "You see uncle…sometimes change is needed." Neji said calmly. Hiashi stared in shock at his clan. He looked at the three children in front of him. '_They have grown' _he realized. "Neji-kun's seal has been removed." Hinata informed, finally catching her breath. She felt over-whelmed. Tears pricked at her eyes once again…but different kind of tears now. "Yes." Neji confirmed. They all gasped in surprise. "I owe a debt of gratitude to you Hinata-sama." he smirked at the title. Hiashi stood down. Silently acknowledging his clan's new leader. She was worthy after all.

Hinata looked around at the clan breathing heavily. It was over. No. Not over. It was just the beginning. Wow. Neji bowed respectfully and stood up. "I will dedicate my life to protecting you with it, you have my undying loyalty now so don't disappoint me." he told her. She simply stared at him. This whole thing was too surreal. Was this happening? Was it…? "I'm proud of you cousin." he added. That did it. Hyugga Hinata inhabited her own body once again. Everything hit home. It was at that moment that the new ruler of the Hyugga clan….fainted. "Hinata!" Neji called.

_**End Flashback: **_

Now here she was, fitting into her role quite well by now. "The head-aches could just be a result of the sudden lack of restriction on your chakra." she told him with a smile. The results seemed to be very pleasing. "Your chakra does not seem affected." she assured. "Hm." he nodded calmly. "Thank you…for letting me test this out N-neji-kun." she thanked him gratefully. "How long until you decide to remove the seals of the others?" he asked coolly. "I will give it a week, then I can be sure it wont hurt anybody." she told him. He nodded again.

"After doing all of this research…I've decided to take it up a kn-knotch." she told him reluctantly. He frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously. "I want to remove dark seals." she said after sucking in a breath. "Hinata-sama I must advise…"

"Neji-kun, I will be f-fine, and it's just 'Hinata' please." she told him stubbornly.

He sighed. She was too stubborn for her own good. "Are you considering anything specific?" he asked. She was. He just knew it. "Ano…I..I want to study Orochimaru's seals…if Uchiha Sasuke is ever successfully brought back to the village I could use him as my subject." she managed to blurt without twiddling her two fingers together. "I don't like it." he remarked simply. "I know you don't." she retorted softly. "Speaking of the Uchiha…Team Kakashi has returned." he informed hesitantly. Her eyes lit up suddenly. "I'm not sure if I should tell you what else now." he shook his head at her expression.

"What is it? Is someone hurt? D-did anybody…d-die?" her stuttering began to take hold of her nerves. "No." he shook his head. "This mission…was an apparent success…Uzumaki and Haruno-san have brought back Uchiha Sasuke." he told her finally. "They are at the Hokage Tower right now." he added. _'Naruto-kun…' _she thought. He had been so eager to get his friend back. She felt suddenly very happy for the reunion of Team 7. If she had ever lost Kiba or Shino she did not know what she would have done. Neji seemed fairly impassive about the whole thing, but if she knew her cousin (and knew him she did) he was just as happy as she was. She smiled. "That is great." she said calmly.

Neji sighed. "We both know you are about to run off to greet them like a mad thing anyway so just do it." he muttered standing up. To his shock she threw her arms around him in a vice-like hug. "Thank you Neji!" she cheered. She began to run off. "If you are still experiencing discomfort tomorrow let me know!" she called over her shoulder. Neji smirked to himself. He trotted behind her in the same direction. He would not pass up the greeting party with the rest of Rookie 9. What kind of comrade would he be? Besides, Ten-ten would kill him if he did not show up like everyone else, and Rock Lee would never let him hear the end of how 'un-youthful' it was of him to skip out. No. He was going to greet Team Kakashi.

Hinata panted as she hurried toward the Hokage Tower. The nearer she got to her destination the louder the cheering and chanting became. A certain blonde knuckle-head's voice becoming more and more intelligible. She had a smile on her face, eager to congratulate Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Sai. "Greetings Hyugga-san." people called to her as she ran by. As polite as she was she made sure to at least acknowledge them with a nod. Someone of her status should not have been running like this…and normally with her shy disposition she would not have drawn such attention to herself, but this was different. She ignored the odd looks, and surprises exclamations as she darted past.

Soon enough she rounded a corner to see all of her friends in a big bunch. They were cheering, some with their hands in the air. Others clapping. A few whistles were deciphered. In the center of the group was the familiar blue-eyed kyubbi vessel, the biggest smile etched onto his face. "And let's hear it for Sakura-chan!!!" he shouted, scooping the pink-haired medic onto his shoulders unexpectedly. "The second best kicker of Uchiha ass!! AROO ROO ROO ROO!!" he twirled his fist in the air while balancing her on his shoulder with his other arm. People began to join in. Hinata giggled as she hurried over clapping. Sakura getting over the shock of being hoisted up in such a manner began to laugh and wave in appreciation.

"Hey Hinata-chan!!" Kiba's voice rang as a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders fondly. "K-kiba-kun." she greeted pleasantly. "Isn't this great!?" he grinned broadly. "Hai…I'm so happy for them." she smiled softly. "Hey where's Akamaru? Akamaru!?" he ran off looking around. Looking around, she noticed Neji being dragged over by an enthusiastic Ten-ten. "Team Seven has been reunited! How exciting!" she leapt up and down. Lee was running for Naruto and Sakura…(more like for Sakura). Sai stood silently beside them with a silent smile…observing these happenings with interest. Hinata was fairly sure she had never seen Kakashi smiling more broadly than he was at that moment. Naruto was now booty dancing much to Sakura's humiliation. Shizune came out of the tower and was trying to calm everybody down.

Her friends definately knew how to be an exceptional welcoming party. What a sight. Then again weren't they exceptional at whatever they set their minds to? Everyone was here. Except Sasuke…whom Hinata was pretty sure was still in the hospital. Shizune, giving up, began speaking to Sakura who frowned slightly before sobering up and giving a nod. "Hey!!! Hinata-chan!!!" Naruto suddenly boomed happily. She blushed slightly. "Hello…N-naruto-kun." she nodded. "Hi Hinata!" Sakura greeted the shy Hyugga happily and embraced her. "Hey Blush." Sai nodded. "I just wanted to congratulate you guys." she said shyly willing away a blush. "Thanks!! Say you wanna celebrate with us!?!?" Naruto proposed excitedly. "O-okay." she nodded. "Great!! Lunch with Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and Hinata!" he pumped his fist into the air. "This is the best day ever!! Free ramen for all!!" he jumped around. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun." Sakura piped up. "Shizune has given me a task that I have to take care of." she smiled apologetically. "Aww but Sakura-chan…!" The blonde whined. "No buts Naruto…it involves…you know who." she looked at him meaningfully. His face dropped.

"..Oh…I gotcha." he nodded. "Maybe next time then?" Hinata smiled at her sympathetically. Sakura nodded and hurried off after giving Sai a soft punch on the arm. She scampered off. "Well… let's go then!" he pulled Hinata off by the arm. Kakashi met up with them at that moment. "Naruto let poor Hinata go, she's a dignified clan leader respect your boundaries." he scolded. "Oops sorry." he smiled sheepishly. "You're not very bright are you, Dickless?" Sai commented making Hinata turn beat red. "Watch it!" Kakashi glared at the ROOT nin.

On their way to Ichiraku's Hinata took the time to look around at the familiar place she called her home. They passed the Yamanaka Flower-shop at one point and then the Hospital. As they passed said hospital…she noticed something. Three people were being escorted from the area by elite ANBU. "Hey look it's Teme!!" Naruto pointed. With closer inspection she noticed that the Uchiha avenger was indeed among the group which made the other two shin obi his team-mates. Activating her Byakuggan out of curiosity, she took a good look at them. One of them had short aqua..silvery hair and a lean frame, but the one who drew the most attention to himself was the big one.

He had to be about seven or eight feet tall! Huge. He turned his head and gave her a brief glance. Startled she looked away but could not shake the feel of his eyes. She quickened her pace as if it had never happened. She could not however hide her blush of embarrassment. _'Think ramen, think ramen.' _she told herself. Eventually she forgot all about the tall shinobi in front of the hospital.


	3. Research and Whackjobs

Author's note: Okay this is my first Author's note. I actually remembered to put it up this time. Anyway I'm going to thank the few reviewers that I have, I'm glad it's to your liking so far. Don't be afraid to criticize. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Disclaimer: Before I forget. I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!

**Chapter Two: Research and Whack-jobs**

"Leniency?" one of the council member scoffed at the proposal that had been put before them. "This subject is a mentally unstable boy who has no desire to hurt anybody." Tsunade attempted to reason. "Bah! His very instability is what makes him a dangerous threat. He should be done away with." Another man remarked. "On the contrary whatever is causing him to lose control is what makes him a threat. If we can somehow remove it, or channel it he would be an excellent trump card for Konoha." she responded. "And in the mean time?" the head council man arched a skeptical brow. "If there is even a way to accomplish this it would take quite some time."

"We believe he is a victim of Orochimaru's curse-seal. Possibly one of the first cases." she informed. "I have dealt with these kind of things before and I could attempt to make its power dormant, then he should not be such a threat to our safety." she added awaiting a response. "If this works out Hokage-sama, he will be spared until further notice." The head council man nodded solemnly. "However if anybody is hurt, you will be held accountable as well as your apprentice, the kyubbi, the ROOT-nin, and Hatake, is that clear?" he held out a warning finger. A council member stood up calmly and announced clearly. "The request to run tests on subject D (Juugo) has here by been granted by the Konoha Council!" he said. "Good." Tsunade nodded. "My apprentice is interrogating the Uchiha as we speak. Ibiki Morino is there as well." she informed them.

…..And that had been that.

Meanwhile Hinata had gotten back from lunch with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai. Of course Naruto had found the space in his stomach for over 15 bowls of ramen despite the fact that he'd eaten prior to going there. 'Kami that boy could give Chouji a run for his money.' she thought. Kakashi had been very kind to keep Sai's crude nickname for Naruto to a minimum for the shy Hyugga girl's sake. Now she found herself trudging down the streets of her village heading back to her compound before her clan had a heart-attack and blamed Neji for her disappearance. Sometimes it was nice to get away.

"Hey." someone called to her in a bored tone. She recognized the chakra signature. "Shikamaru?" she turned to him. "Sorry if this is troublesome but there's something going on at the hospital that I thought you'd be interested in." he told her. He peaked her interest. "The Hokage requested some testing for one of Hebi's curse-seal victims. She wants to bind his seal's power to make him less dangerous." he stated. "How do you know about…this?" Hinata inquired softly. Tests? Binding? "ANBU remember? It's supposed to be kept quiet but I know you wouldn't make a peep about this. Besides, after what you did for Neji, I'd like to see what else your capable of." he nodded. Hinata smiled softly. So she already had a reputation? It was flattering.

However she was not interested in seeing someone's seal being bound. It was nothing new. Something however, told her it would be educational to take a look at the workings of the Sound curse-seal. "Gomen…The clan advisors need me right now. Maybe I can look after I tell them where I'll be going." she murmured aloud. The shadow-nin simply shrugged and walked off with his hands in his pockets as usual. Nara Shikamaru. Always a genius, and always lazy. Now to head home.

….

A few hours later in front of the Hokage Tower. "You're what!?" Shizune, Naruto, and Sakura all chorused together the shock on their faces evident. Eyes wide and pupil-less. "You heard correctly. I'm planning to retire by the end of this year and I will be seeking the best successor for me in that time." Tsunade replied evenly. "Shisou…what about-"

"It's okay Sakura!" she snapped. "I will not be neglecting my duties, or the current situation with the council." she promised.

Sakura bowed her head respectfully. "Gomenasai Hokage-sama." she apologized. "I wanted you to know about this ahead of time so that it didn't come as so much of a shock. Apparently it didn't work." the Godaime rolled her eyes. "Would it not have been more appropriate if you waited until after you dealt with 'Subject D'?" Shizune remarked. "Juugo." Sakura corrected softly but with a hint of sternness. "Where is his seal located?" Tsunade inquired. "I think it's on the palm of his hand." Naruto stated. Quietly for once. (O.O insert twilight zone theme). She nodded in response looking at a clip-board she carried.

"I really hope this works, you guys." she looked at the young ANBU members that stood before her. "Hai." they agreed softly. "Shizune. Contact Neji and Shikamaru and tell them to bring Subject D-or rather Juugo- to the E.R. of Konoha Hospital." she commanded. "Hai!" she bowed and hurried off. "Naruto, you are dismissed. Sakura as my apprentice I need you here with me." she stated. "BUT BA-"

"NO BUTS NARUTO! AND I SWEAR IF YOU CALL ME BAACHAN ONE MORE TIME I'LL CASTRATE YOU WITH A PAIR OF CHOPSTICKS! UNDERSTAND!?" she snapped at the blonde idiot. He leapt to the other side of the room in horror. "Okay! Okay! I'm gone!" He ran through the doors. Sakura was trying hard not to laugh in front of her steaming sensei. "Now. Sakura, lets go." she strode out the door with her apprentice on her heels.

………

"Well. Here we are." Suigetsu sighed, bored out of his mind. "Where is Karin-san?" Juugo asked. The mist-nin rolled his eyes. "Still in the hospital after taking that hit from the pinky-girl." He whistled. "Damn she's got an arm." he added. Sasuke sat in his own cell nearby silently. There was a wordless pause. Suigetsu looked at him for a moment. "So…" he attempted to strike up a conversation. "You got a plan, Uchiha?" he asked curiously. "**My **plans, have nothing to do with leaving this cell." he answered simply. "Oh nice." the silver-haired ninja huffed. "Not even one more for old times sake?" he teased. He received a death-glare that shut him up. "Sasuke-san is upset." Juugo closed his eyes calmly. "No shit." Suigetsu replied.

Suddenly the three ninja were alerted to the sound of doors hissing open and foot steps echoing down the dungeon corridors. Suigetsu crawled over and leaned his face against the bars. "More ANBU?" he groaned. Sasuke recognized their voices. "Nara. Hyugga." he murmured. "Uchiha." they both nodded but moved to another cell. "This one is Juugo." Shikamaru informed his companion. "Hey. What do they want with him?" Suigetsu looked at Sasuke with something similar to concern. Sasuke gave a puzzled frown and narrowed his eyes. "What's this about?" he spoke suspiciously. "None of your concern." Neji said harshly. "The Hokage has business for him. Trust me you have no need to pity him." Shikamaru answered calmly earning a glare from the Hyugga.

The last Uchiha was undaunted. "Business?" he hissed. "Hush." Neji bluntly ordered as Juugo stepped out of his cell passively. He towered over the two men and their subordinates. His hands were tied by chakra strings just in case. The most visible thing about his appearance besides his stature was the orange-red color of his hair. "This way." Shikamaru said after a yawn. Suigetsu watched as Juugo followed behind surrounded by armed guard. Golden eyes narrowed anxiously. What were they doing? Picking them off one by one? Usually one of the methods for execution was to separate the group. He felt suddenly very nervous.

"What kind of place is this Uchiha?" he asked cautiously. "They wont kill him." Sasuke murmured despite the obvious glare. "They're after something if the council has agreed to this unorthodox way of handling prisoners." he added. "But what could Juugo possibly have to offer them?" Suigetsu shook his head. "We will see." Sasuke ignored the mistrust in his gut.

Meanwhile Juugo looked over his shoulder to where he had once been confined only a few minutes ago. "Do you think this…Hokage of yours could…help me?" he was almost afraid to believe it. Shikamaru raised a brow. "We'll have to wait and see I guess." he answered. Neji remained silent. Puzzled by the soft nature of this 'S-ranked, deadly, missing-nin'. "I think it would be better not to hurt anybody anymore." he looked at the ground. The two ANBU exchanged odd looks to one another but kept walking none-the-less.

As Juugo looked around he felt a strange sensation of calm. This place was beautiful. "We are going back to the hospital?" he asked. He hadn't liked it in there. It reminded him too much of the tests he had undergone in the sound lair. Sure it was brighter and the atmosphere seemed significantly less hostile. However it still had that smell of medicine and that lack of bright color that unnerved him, and the food was bad. He frowned slightly. "Yes." Shikamaru answered, once he was sure the Hyugga next to him was planning on keeping silent through the whole walk. "Hmm." he nodded ignoring a sinking feeling in his gut.

The doors hissed open allowing a surge of icy air to envelope the group. The familiar hospital smell assaulted their noses. Juugo felt a cold-sweat coming on. 'Don't get worked up.' he warned himself remembering every method of meditation he knew to calm himself. They walked down the halls ignoring the nervous looks from civilian patients and nurses. It was so white. Everything. Maybe a pinch of gray, or soft dulled colors. His eyes already became tired of staring. Letting out a sigh he looked at his sandals. He suddenly wished Sasuke-san was here. "Oh good. You're here!" a familiar soft voice called to them. He looked up. To his relief the bright colors, pink and green came into his line of vision.

"Sakura-san." he smiled softly. He liked Sakura-san, and Naruto-san as well. They were kind to him. "You know her?" Shikamaru asked only to be interrupted by the medic hurriedly leading them off. "My shisou is expecting you, so I advice you don't be late. Hello Juugo." she smiled warmly at him. He nodded in greeting. They came to a room that suddenly made him freeze in his tracks. It was closed off. Tightly. He suddenly became nervous. "Juugo what is it?" Sakura asked softly. "What are you going to do?" he asked sharply. "Calm down, it's okay its just some tests to see what's making you-"

"No! No tests!" he shook his head swiftly. Tests were a bad word to him after what he'd been though. "Sakura what's going on?" Tsunade's voice called. "Juugo. Nobody is going to hurt you." she whispered. "We want to help you. Understand?" she put her hands on his shoulders firmly. "Help..help me." he was trembling. "Come in okay?" she coaxed him softly. "Sakura…san." he inched forward nervously. "That's right. Everything is fine." she soothed him. "Fine." he nodded and calmly walked with her shaking all the while. Juugo sat on a table, eyes shut tightly blocking everything out.

"Is he going to be alright?" the Hokage eyed him. "I don't know." Sakura shook her head in concern. "We need to sedate him." Tsunade concluded. "He might not like that." the pinkette warned. "Well do you see any alternative?" she asked. Shizune nodded sympathetically at her over Tsunade's shoulder. "I'll prepare the syringe." she sighed. "Good." Tsunade nodded at her apprentice. Juugo felt the pinch of a needle and flinched. His eyes were still closed, but less tense than before.

…….

Hinata entered Konoha Hospital. It had taken her a while to get Hanabi to cover for her while she was gone. The only reason the advisors didn't flip out and lock her in her office was because Neji was at the hospital too. "Excuse me?" she inquired to the receptionist. "Yes how may I- Eep! Hyugga-sama! Wh-what can I do for you?" she stuttered nervously. Was she ever this bad? She wasn't used to being the confident one. "Where is subject D being held please?" she smiled. "O-oh er- well I was told that…" she looked at the screen of the computer. "I will take her." a hand touched Hinata's arm. "Neji-kun." Hinata greeted as he nodded to her. "Come along. This way." he told her curtly. "Um nice…seeing you!" the young girl called after them. Slapping her forehead with embarrassment.

"He is most definitely mentally unstable." Neji said calmly as they walked down the hall. "Well…after all, he has been experimented on Neji-kun." she reasoned gently. Just as they were outside the door a blood curdling scream was heard. Shikamaru was already rushing the door with Neji who pushed Hinata back. They busted into the room. Hinata refusing to be left out of the loop ran after them. "GET HIM DOWN!" Tsunade bellowed. Hinata saw a horrible sight as she looked into the room. _"Blood. I need more!" _the orange-haired beserker hissed. He had Shizune pinned to the floor ready to rip out her throat. Shikamaru was wiping blood from his mouth and lunging back at him. Instinct taking over she joined the fray as they tried to restrain him futilely. "Juugo! Stop it!!" Sakura shrieked. Hinata zoomed past an unexpentant Neji, hands ready. She hit him in the arm he was attacking Shizune with, paralyzing the chakra in it.

He roared in pain. Rearing, he dropped the Hokage's assistant, and clutching his arm. Red eyes bored into lavender and emerald ones. The pink-haired medic stared blankly and suddenly began to run for the door. What was she doing!? Hinata did not know Sakura to be a coward who leaves her friends behind. "Sakura!!!" she yelled. "You." he pointed at Hinata. "I will kill…_you." _Hinata stared up at his towering frame. Her training kicked in and she got into a fighting stance. "Hinata!!" Neji shouted.


	4. Turn of Events

Author's Note: I'm feeling really good about my reviews so far. Juugo x Hinata is not very popular to say the least but I'll try. I got the idea in a conversation with one of my besties lol. Just so people are clear there will be no Sakura bashing cause I'm one of the few people who actually like her. (yes it's true)

Disclaimer: I own nothing by the name of Naruto or the story would have been very different at this point. *sighs*

**Chapter 3: Turn of Events**

"Hinata!!" Neji shouted. The Hyugga girl was focused primarily on the large berserker before her. He had the most blood-chilling grin on his face. She activated her Byakkugan as he lunged for her, leaping gracefully over him with the help of his shoulder. He reared on her only to have three kunais in his calf, courtesy of Shikamaru. To the groups horror he hadn't even flinched simply gave a toothy grin at the sight of his own blood! He made for Hinata again. She ran out of his arm range for a moment before charging for his charka points.

He was too big for any effective show of force. Force had never been a strong point for her anyway. She had her mind. To her shock the technique only slowed him down significantly. What was he? Anyone else would be immobile by now. She had to knock him out. "Juugo listen to us!! You're going to harm yourself and everyone else!!" Tsunade attempted to bring him back to reality. To none avail as Hinata dove off to the left. A grotesque bunch of markings began to form along his face and arms. "I have to…kill." he smiled eerily. Hinata figured she would have to knock him out already but how? Gentle fist was not working quick enough. He was still human though. If she could hit him hard enough in the back of the head maybe she could do it. She longed for the Hokage's super strength at that moment.

She was getting tired as he persistently attacked. Her comrades all helped. If the advisors heard about this, Neji would be toast. She took advantage of her agility and leapt over him aiming a kick to the back of his head. When her ankle was caught in a painful vice-like grip she felt the first twinge of real fear. She was swung into a wall, and hit the ground with a thud. She could make out the sound of panicking. A foot was suddenly pressed onto her ribcage and began applying pressure. "You were pretty cute too, shame." he commented while slowly attempting to crush her chest cavity. It was getting painful. 'Need. Air' she thought. "GET OFF!!" a booming voice was heard. The foot had come off of her and there was a loud crash. Tsunade stood in front of her protectively, fist raised. Neji beside her.

"You're in the way." Juugo growled. "Juugo we don't want to hurt you." she warned. "The HELL we don't!!!" Neji snarled vengefully. "You two look alike." the sinister being in their presence commented, tilting his head at an awkward angle to look at Neji. "Care to take her place?" he hissed. "N-n..eji-kun.." Hinata refused to have him killed for her. "Hush, Hinata. I am a shinobi and I made a promise to you….I will fight him." he stated getting into position. "He'll kill you all alone like that." Shikamaru blunted. "I'm helping." he added in a way that clearly meant Neji had no choice in the matter. Before the discussion could be debated any longer the monster lunged once again. It was a blur of ANBU black and green…meshed with red-orange.

Hinata sat up in frustration, leaning against the wall to regain her bearings. She could do this. She had to protect her cousin. Prove to him that she could hold her own without him if need be. There was a startled gasp as Shikamaru was suddenly gripped by the throat. "Stop him!" Shizune yelled. In the blink of an eye Hinata tossed a kunai which imbedded itself in his already broken wrist. There was a roar of pain before the shadow-nin was dropped gasping and sputtering to the floor. Juugo ripped the weapon from his injured limb and advanced only to be tripped by a quick thinking Neji.

Unfortunately he grabbed Neji's ankles and yanked him to the floor. The two shinobi struggled violently. Neji's long hair now loose and unruly. Hinata charged herself at the offending ninja's back. He hit him behind the neck paralyzing more chakra. He hissed and turned on her again. Suddenly there was the sound of doors swinging open and a blur of black and white blocking her view. "Juugo." an impassive voice broke into the fray. "Stop this now." The red-headed berserker swayed exhaustedly as he stared at the man before him. Uchiha Sasuke. "Is everyone okay!?" Sakura burst into the room behind him. Hinata felt relief like no other to see that the pink-haired medic had used her quick thinking to save them after all.

Juugo suddenly fell to his knees looking around frantically. "What…happened? What have I done?" The sight of the disheveled group of shinobi confirmed his fears. "I tried to kill again didn't I? I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry." he apologized. Hinata was unnerved by how quickly he had changed from feral to a submissive, normal human being. Sasuke looked around at everyone, seeing nobody dead he put himself at ease. Or as at ease as a Uchiha could get. "When Juugo loses himself the only one who can bring him back to his senses is Sasuke." Sakura explained. "I'm sorry but I had to let him out." she added. "It's fine Sakura." Tsunade sighed. She was getting to old for all of this excitement. "Hinata…are you badly injured?" Neji asked impassively not bothering with his hair.

"I'm fine." she smoothed out her shirt. "Oh Juugo." Sakura kneeled and looked at his wrist disapprovingly. "It's all my fault." she muttered. "I'm sorry Sakura-san." he apologized. "It's okay." she sighed. "We should have picked a different way to do this." Hinata was perturbed. What could possibly be wrong with him that a standard curse-seal binding had this kind of effect on him? "Hn." Sasuke muttered plainly. His face showed obvious disdain for this preventable situation. "Where is Suigetsu?" Juugo asked. "Still in his cell." he answered simply.

"Hokage-sama?" Shizune stepped forward timidly. "What is it?" Tsunade asked, still massaging her temples. "Word is spreading through the hospital like wild-fire…the council…" she trailed off worriedly. "They will want to kill him." she nodded. "No!" Sakura protested without thinking. "You know getting them to agree to this was already a stretch Sakura." Tsunade told her with a shake of her head. "Yes but…well- what if we could completely obliterate his problem?" she asked. Sasuke suddenly looked at them sharply but kept his mouth shut. Neji narrowed his eyes at him with suspicion. The two began glaring at each other challengingly. Hinata, noticed this stepped between them authoritatively.

"Before we can discuss this any more I think certain ears should be put back into their respective cells." he said harshly over her head at the raven-haired shinobi. "Hn." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. "He's right." the Hokage agreed. "Let's go Sasuke." Sakura sighed. He showed resistance. She rolled her eyes. "I am not playing games, unless you like me to dislocate your other shoulder." she narrowed emerald eyes threateningly. When the Uchiha faltered Neji smirked to himself and looked at Shikamaru who had a grin tugging at his lips. They were pleased that she had gotten over her sad childhood infatuation with the Uchiha. Hinata was proud of her. Grudgingly Sasuke let out a frustrated 'Hn.' at being ordered around by his ex-fan-girl. "Move it Uchiha!" she rushed. He walked a little faster as she led him away. "Juugo, come with us please okay?" she smiled at the red-head with assurance. He nodded and followed after the pair.

Hinata watched them leave with interest, still breathing heavily from the close call. He was absolutely insane. Whatever gave him such power had to go. "I apologize for this inconvenience Hyugga-san." Tsunade said calmly. "No need." she answered. "I only wish we could do more to help." she looked at her disheveled cousin, knowing he might not share such an opinion. He remained silent however, unwilling to show any sign of being contrary toward his leader. Neji simply stared at his cousin. Was she really so forgiving?

"At least nobody died. Then there would be absolutely no hope for this…'Juugo' character." Shikamaru commented. "I don't think there is." Neji folded his arms in thought. "Perhaps it would be an act of mercy to kill him." he added. "If Sakura-san thinks we can help him then I trust her." Hinata stated confidently. "If not then, execution would be inevitable." she nodded. Neji felt a surge of pride that she spoke without so much as a pause. She was getting more and more sure of herself as the days went on.

"After I deal with the council. Sakura and I will discuss what to do more. I would like it if at least one of you two could be here as well." she motioned to the two Hyuggas. "Hai." they both nodded. "Not me." Shikamaru shook his head. "I haven't dealt with such a troublesome prisoner in months and I'm in need of a nap." he stated. "A nap?" Neji frowned at him. "But…it will probably be days from now when Tsunade-sama needs us next." Hinata furrowed her brow in puzzlement. "Yeah and…?" the lazy leaf-nin failed to see their point. Everyone in the room sweat-dropped.

"We wont ask." Tsunade shook her head. "You will not be a necessity anyway. I wont however have you sleeping for days on end, you may still be needed for missions after all." she waved a finger at him. "Tch." he rolled his eyes. "Don't you 'tch' me, Nara." she warned. "If I so much as hear rumors of snoring coming from your house, I will send Miss Yamanaka to wake you up herself. Bright and early too and you know how Ino behaves when she's awake bright and early." she smirked as Shikamaru's face dropped nervously.

He shivered. "Fine. I'll set my damn alarm clock for an hour or two happy?" he almost pouted. "Good." the Godaime nodded. "You are all dismissed for now." she waved them off. They all walked out of the hospital room dazed with slightly shaky limbs at what they had just been through. People gave odd looks at the hot mess these ANBU looked like. Never mind the Hyugga clan leader herself.

……………….

"Ugh. Need. Sake." the busty blonde plopped onto the operating table exhausted. It had been such a sudden outburst. Why hadn't the method worked? It worked every other time. What was different about this sound-nin? They were missing something. Tsunade thought back to how it all happened.

**Flashback:**

"I don't think he will like that." Sakura had said to her. She did not like being questioned so she answered. "Do you see any other alternative?" she did this mostly to assure her pupil rather than scold. She agreed reluctantly. "I'll get the needle ready." she had said to show that she was willing to try. Once they had placed the needle into his skin it seemed as though he had been properly sedated as his eyes relaxed visibly.

"Okay then." she said to the people around her. "Let's do this." To begin she needed to draw some blood from herself. So she bit her thumb routinely. She felt the tell-tale pain of breaking skin and let go. The tension was thick and nobody had any idea why. She professionally took his arm to see the mark on the palm of his hand. It did not look like a curse-seal. At least none that she'd ever encountered. She paused allowing a look of puzzlement to come over her features. She touched the mark and started to make signs of her own…but that was when it happened.

His eyes had opened, completely alert despite the drugs in his system. "Blood." he had said in an eerie tone. Not sure that she had heard correctly she raised a brow. "What?" she asked softly. Shizune stepped forward with a tissue. "He said.."

"Blood! Kill…I must kill!" he had tackled the dark haired assistant to the floor causing a scream to erupt from her lips. "AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

The doors were kicked open and Shikamaru flew in distracting him from instantly ripping Shizune to shreds, only to be smacked into a wall, blood spurting from his lip. Neji bolted in only seconds after with Hyugga Hinata right on his heels. "Juugo! Stop it!!" Sakura screamed at him. The rest was migraine enticing history.

**End Flashback**

"How the hell am I supposed to explain this to the council?" she muttered to herself. How did they expect her to help Juugo without coming up with solutions that were less ambiguous. This thought brought to mind Sasuke's sudden alert to Sakura's suggestion earlier. He knew something. Not only that…he was holding said knowledge back. "Shizune." she called softly. "Yes Hokage-sama?" she asked. There was a silence as she pondered. "…Nevermind. I'll talk to Sakura later." she finally murmured. "We should get back to the tower then." her assistant suggested with concern. "Yeah. Back to all that damn paper-work." she growled standing up. Snatching up the clip-board she stormed off with Shizune close behind her.

………..

To say that Hinata was intrigued would be an understatement. Her inquisitive interest was itching to get to the bottom of this issue with this….Juugo. Neji did not take very long to smooth out and re-tie his hair. Honestly he was as vain as Ino deep down inside even though he'd refuse to admit if she ever mentioned it out loud. Hey she knew that everyone else was thinking of it too. One time she could have sworn that she'd seen him purchasing strawberry scented shampoo while practicing her Byakuggan. Of course being the understanding cousin she was she didn't ask him about it.

Back on topic. "Neji. I have a feeling that…I.." she began to twiddle her fingers again. He raised a brow, knowing that when she did this she knew he was not going to like what was coming. "I-I…would really like to help Sakura and Tsunade with…you know…Juugo." she murmured. There was a long silence. Long and penetrating. "No." he stated flatly. "They need help removing seals!" she protested. "I-I gomen..I feel that it's my duty to offer my assistance to my village." she reasoned. "If you were injured-"

"I wont be." she said confidently. "Remember that you have n-no choice in the matter…I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to do this. I'll have to tell the o-"

"You most certainly will not say anything." she said suddenly very calm. He raised a brow. What was she up to? "I _have _to-"

"If you utter a word about this discussion. I will tell Ten-ten what kind of shampoo you use." she folded her arms. Deep inside she was surprised at her own cheek. His eyes seemed impassive to anyone else but Hinata caught the subtle change in them. So she had been right about what she'd seen after all. Kill two birds with one stone. "Hm." he grunted looking ahead. Taking this as an agreement she nodded pleasantly. "Tell Hanabi I will be back in a few hours." she ordered. He nodded grudgingly.

Step 1: Get away from the baby-sitter: Check

Step 2: Get information: Commenced.


	5. Interviews and Info

Author's Note: I know Hinata's meeting with Juugo was not very romantic but I feel that she needs to see what Juugo is really capable of before she can accept him enough to fall for him. Let's face it he's CRACKERS. So bear with me. :/ Thanks to my reviewers as always. P.S. I hate Karin if anybody hasn't guessed yet xP. I know you have.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, zilch, nada. T.T

**Chapter Four: Interviews and Info**

Hinata was exhausted. She's spent the entire day yesterday researching the origins of Orochimaru's curse-seal. Hours in the restricted library files, and rifling through forbidden scrolls. She was granted access due to her connections with the Hokage and her leadership of the Hyugga Clan. All that hard work for nothing. She found some interesting facts but nothing that would help her. The young clan leader had lost track of time and stayed out until nightfall. It had been so late when she had returned that in order to not be seen and reprimanded she scaled the wall of her bedroom window.

Unfortunately her little sister Hanabi caught her in her undignified state, but as a sister she was sworn to secrecy. Neji wisely said nothing the next day.

Now here she was, half asleep wandering about her own house. "I need to learn more." she groaned to herself silently. It had always been a habit for Hinata to push herself to extreme limits…just like Naruto. Perhaps that was why she liked him so much. She could relate to him perhaps. She had seen him and Sakura earlier today walking somewhere together. They didn't have Sasuke to hang out with as of yet but they seemed content enough. She would have to go see Kiba and Shino sometime soon. She missed them. To the task at hand…she needed to find out more about Juugo that the Konoha records did not seem to have.

His team-mates were a good start…but who to interview first? Maybe Sasuke would be a good choice, considering she would need to ask about his personal experience with the curse-seal. Karin was a tracker-nin in charge of the prisons possibly where Juugo might have been kept. Chances are that she knew of Juugo's past. Sound must have had excellent records of him. Making up her mind she scribbled a note and left it on her desk in plain view. She was going to the dungeons.

As soon as she stepped out the door outside a hand touched her shoulder. "Neji-kun! Don't scare me like that!" she protested. He nodded silently. "A-are you here to stop me?" she asked curiously. "Of course not Hinata-sama." he used the title to remind her of her authority. "I am coming with you." he stated. Hinata fought back a wide grin and managed a shy smile. She nodded. "Come."

………..

Silence. There was nothing but utter silence in the Konoha dungeons as two missing-nin held an intense glaring competition. It was dark but not uncomfortable. They both had their own albeit it cheap futons to rest on and were given regular meals. The two each sat across from each other in separate cells eyes filled with disdain. "Bitch." The mist-nin Suigestu was already up to here with Karin. Since she had come back from the hospital she was even more annoying and moody than ever. "Fuck off Suigetsu." she responded acidly. "Stop looking at me then. I don't know where they took Sasuke now quit it. My flesh is already burning because of your hideous eyes." he growled. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"It's your fault this happened to my face." she snarled. "So don't flatter yourself. I'm just fantasizing on ways to kill you."

Suigetsu laughed. "Oh yeah the iron wires and shit." he made a motion to his face. His laughter angered her to no end. "I must say Karin this is your best look yet! Hahaha! H-*breaths* 'Hello Clarice'. BAHAHAHAHA!!" he laughed at his own joke. "Shut up!!!" she covered her ears. "Hey I wonder what Sasukes doing now with Naruto and _Sa-ku-ra." _he mocked her. "That bitch took him!?" she suddenly asked incredulously. "Correction his team came by, and he willingly went with them, though who could blame him knowing you'd be here soon I'd make a mad dash in **any** safe direction." he shrugged.

"GO TO HELL!" she bellowed. This was just not her day. They argued for hours on end. Suigetsu always managing the upper-hand. They were so into it that neither one of them noticed the sound of the doors opening. They continued snapping at each other. One pissed off and the other amused.

………..

Hinata and Neji told the guards their need to speak with the members of Team Hebi and were let in without hesitation. If Hinata had not been so focused on the task at hand and so willing to think the best of people, she would have known that it was mostly because they had the hots for her. Neji narrowed his eyes in disapproval, but said nothing to her. It wasn't her fault after all. He did give them a threatening death glare when he noticed them checking her out as she walked away. Immediately they stopped. As they opened the doors the Hyuggas walked down the hall.

Shouts were echoing, bouncing off the walls as two distinct voices bickered. One female the other male. What they were saying was mostly unintelligible but could be made out better by the two Hyuggas as they neared the destined cells. Soon they could hear everything. "SCREW YOU!" Karin shrieked at the mist-nin. He gagged. "NO thank you. I'd go gay first so I guess you'll have to just settle for taking care of yourself. I'm sure you have to do it often anyways." he shrugged. Hinata turned red at the implication and Neji glared but simply folded his arms and said nothing.

"HOW DARE YOU-"

"Ahem." Hinata's soft voice broke in calmly. She willed away her blush as they turned to look at their 'visitors'.

"Hey there, cutie." Suigetsu winked at her. "I have a few questions regarding your team-mate, Juugo." she ignored the comment and forced herself not to stutter. If she wanted to be taken seriously she needed to get a grip right now. Suigetsu crawled over and leaned against the bars. "You can interrogate me any day." he grinned suggestively. Neji kicked the bars that were guarding his face harshly, making a point for the missing-nin to back off. And so the mist-nin did so, deciding to take this guy seriously. "Sheesh." he commented. "Show some respect to Hinata-sama." he warned him. "She your sister or something? You two look alike." he remarked. Karin was uncharacteristically silent as she watched them. Possibly ashamed of the metal braces and guards that were on her face. They ignored him drawing their attention to her. "Which of you know anything important about him?" she asked.

"Who wants to know?" Karin asked suspiciously. She did not like how nosy this girl seemed. 'Would Sasuke-kun tell her anything?' she thought skeptically. "I only want to help him." she assured. "By help him do you mean like what you guys did to him yesterday?" Suigetsu now was genuinely upset. "Yesterday was a mistake…due to poor knowledge. We want to know everything we can now before we make another decision or move." she explained. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?" Karin rolled her eyes. Hinata frowned. "I think. It would be unwise to have him relive his past experiences to us." she stated trying hard to remain impassive about the whole thing. If only she could be like Neji in that aspect.

"I see." Karin huffed. "Fine, I'll tell you what I know." she conceded. "If you can tell me where Sasuke-kun is." she added. "The last time I saw him he was sparring with Sakura." Neji replied dryly. Karin twitched. "Aww man! Without me to watch? That's messed up, she promised." Suigestu sulked, folding his arms. "Who does that whore think she is!" Karin growled in frustration. Suigestu was about to make a snappy comeback when Neji spoke up. "When one points a finger at another how many fingers point back?" he asked dryly. Karin gaped at him and Suigetsu smirked. "Wow. First the kyubbi, then Sakura, then the ROOT guy, and now him. I think I'm liking the people of Konoha." he chuckled.

"Ahem." Hinata cleared her throat for attention. "Karin-san, what do you remember about Juugo from Sound?" Hinata asked her. "Mostly that he was an experiment nut-case, he has a few keen abilities to throw off trackers though I'm not sure if he always had it or not." she muttered. She wasn't focusing very well after picturing _her _Sasuke-kun hanging out with that idiot blonde and his pink-haired, slutty, bitch friend. "Apparently he had always had 'violent' tendencies which was why he had come to Orochimaru in the first place…for 'help' che…what an idiot." she scoffed.

Hinata wasn't sure she liked this girl at all. How could she talk about her own team-mate like that? Sound must have been and survival of the fittest type of place even more than she had thought. "He agreed to join us because he believed the spirit of some guy what's-his-face was reborn into Sasuke-kun." she added. "Why would he think something like that?" Hinata inquired. Karin sighed. This girl was asking her too many questions.

"This guy was a friend of his who was the only one he knew that could control his 'out bursts', and after he died Sasuke-kun showed up and was able to do the same thing." she explained impatiently. "How does he do it?" Neji asked curiously. "Probably the Sharingan." Hinata remarked. "Correct. 5 points for the girl." Karin remarked sarcastically. They both frowned at her. "Do you know anything else?" Hinata asked trying to remain neutral. "Listen. I was only in charge of the prisons. If you want to know about his records as an experiment or specific anatomical details you should have snatched Kabuto and thrown _him _in here m'kay?" she snapped. Hinata felt a sinking feeling in her gut. It could have been anger, annoyance, frustration, shock…or perhaps a mix of all of the above. It had been finalized that she did not like this Karin girl. She frowned.

"Geez Karin, why are you always so hostile to other girls? It's not going to magically make them less pretty than you." Suigetsu remarked. "In fact I don't think the best surgeons could make you much prettier than anybody but that's just a personal opinion." he added. "KAMI!! SHUT UP SUIGETSU NOBODY WAS TALKING TO YOU!!" Karin screeched. Her shrill voice making Hinata and Neji cringe and cover their ears angrily and in pain. "Sorry to waste so much time." Hinata apologized, straightening up. "Don't let it happen again." Karin huffed. "I was talking to my cousin." Hinata muttered in annoyance. "Ooooh." Suigetsu chuckled. Neji nodded to Hinata. "Come." he motioned his arm to the door. "Working here is obviously useless." he told her.

"Maybe I should talk to Juugo." Hinata sighed as they walked off. "He is being kept in a high-security cell at the hospital." Neji informed her. "Did Sasuke-san really go to spar with Sakura?" she asked suddenly. "No." Neji shrugged. "I just wanted to make that annoying….thing feel bad." he said bluntly. Hinata held back a giggle. It was wrong of her to find Neji's cruel way of thinking amusing. Even if Karin did deserve it. "Well then I guess we should go to the hospital." she told him. "Aa." Neji agreed in his Neji-ish kind of way. So they were off.

…………………

The hospital seemed cheerier than Juugo remembered it as he sat outside with a chakra restrictor on his ankle. It was colorful out here so he stayed here. If he was going to have outside time he might as well enjoy it to the fullest. He would have rather been locked up with his team-mates. They made him uncomfortable sometimes but at least he would not be so lonely. He heard a tell-tale chirp and looked up into the branches of the cherry tree above him. He smiled when he saw the little bird perched on a thin twig patching up a cute little nest.

…….

"Outside time?" Hinata raised a brow. 'Who could have managed that?' she thought to herself. "Sakura-san insisted that it was best for him to have time out of his cell…for more color and fresh air. The doctors couldn't refuse." the nurse told them professionally. 'Ah Sakura. Always resourceful.' Hinata smiled lightly to herself. "Where is he?" she asked politely. "In the garden Hinata-sama. He insisted and the nurses were too afraid to deny him." the tired lady shook her head. "Thank you." she nodded walking off with Neji close behind.

She didn't know it but she was kind of nervous to visit the man who almost killed her in an insane rage. Her heart pounded slightly. If she were younger she would have been tempted to grasp Neji's hand. As they stepped onto the garden Neji gave her a reassuring nod. Activating her Byakuggan she searched the area. Her senses came across a powerful chakra signature so she looked in that direction. Sure enough she saw a large frame crouched under a tree with his back facing her. "Neji-kun…I-I think I…should do this alone..o..okay?" she looked at him. If she couldn't face her fears alone she could not expect to be a good leader. Hesitantly he agreed but kept watch at a fair distance.

Slowly Hinata walked up to him her mouth feeling parched. Just as she reached him and was about to speak..

"Hello."

"EEP!" she jumped and internally kicked herself, blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry for frightening you." the soft spoken shinobi smiled. "A-..well…" '_Get a grip!' _she snapped internally. "It's fine." she managed to calm herself down a bit. He turned around fully and Hinata noticed to her surprise a pudgy little bird perched on his finger happily chirping. She stared incredulously. He looked down at his new feathered friend and back up at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "Um-…no." she assured. "What's your name?" he asked politely. "Hyugga Hinata." she answered calmly.

He was very different in his normal state. She had expected something different from an S-ranked missing-nin. "That's pretty." he said awkwardly. "A-are you afraid of me, Hinata-san?" he asked her. "Why..would you…?"

"I almost killed you. Usually nobody wants to be around me after that so I figured that maybe you were afraid, even though you were talking to me." he explained. She was silently staring at him. "I'm sorry." he told her sorrowfully. "I don't like hurting people…but these things always happen to me." he stroked the little bird's feathers. "Um…you don't mind if I ask you a few questions do you Juugo?" she inquired softly. "No." he shook his head. He had very pleasant features, his eyes although a strange reddish color were kindly and sweet, and she thought his unique red hair was nice. All in all his appearance under any other circumstance would put her at ease.

Hesitantly she sat across from him on the grass. "When did you get your curse-seal?" she asked timidly, wanting to get to the point. "Curse-seal?" he asked her puzzled. "Yes…isn't that what does those things to you?" she asked trying to make him as comfortable as possible. He shook his head. "I've never had a curse-seal, but Sasuke-san does." he stated. Hinata's eyes widened…so he was just…always like this? He could just lose himself at any moment, just because? What was wrong with him!? The words repeated through her head. She needed to tell the Hokage but…what would the council do if they knew this? "Hinata-san…are you okay?" he asked concerned.

* * *

Author's Note: I thought this chapter was a bit choppy but let me know what you think *shrug*


	6. Decisions and New Friends

**Author's Note: I'm attempting to make this chapter a little fluffy. I promise to proof-read my work better this time. Yes Hina and Juugo are talking normally now xD. What shall be done with the council? What is Sasuke hiding? What will Hinata do? Read and find out lol. Okay.. Onward!! **

**Disclaimer: Stop it okay!! I get it! Let me have my fun…I own nothing!!! **

**Chapter Five: Decisions and New Friends**

"Hinata-san?" he repeated a bit more worried this time. "You look pale…say something." he touched her forehead. Was she sick? All that came out was stutters and he wasn't helping by touching her. Hinata was not very used to strange men touching her. She blushed. "I…I..I'm okay." she shook her head. She wanted to leave now with this information sinking in but what would she tell him? Just run off? Would it be rude to politely excuse herself now? She stood up hesitantly. "G-gomen something has just come up. I have to-"

"..You're leaving?.." his eyes held concealed disappointment.

She was silent. "Well..I…" she was interrupted. "I mean I don't want to pressure you to stay but…" he shook his head. "I am sorry. Nobody wants to talk to me and I was feeling a bit lonely that's all." he apologized with a bow. The little bird on his finger fluttered onto his head. Hinata felt her heart melt at the sight. He seemed so sweet. Maybe she could talk to him…just for a little bit. She searched for Neji with her eyes.

She saw him watching, leaning against a tree. When their eyes met she gave him a soft smile and a nod that told him to go about his business. He frowned questioningly but she dismissed him with a more authoritative nod followed by an assuring look. He seemed hesitant, pearly eyes blinking but finally agreed with a nod of his own. She turned back to Juugo who was quietly sitting in a meditative position. "Are…you staying?" he asked with a hopeful look. "For a moment." the Hyugga confirmed sitting Indian style on the grass in front of him. He gave a warm smile. "Thank you." he nodded.

There was a moment of silence before she spoke up. "You…seem to like animals." she motioned to the bird he was playing with. "Well they understand me anyway." he shrugged softly. "Do you want to hold her?" he asked politely. "No…she'd just fly away. I'm not gifted in that manner like you." she declined. He chuckled a bit. "She wont. Let me show you." he held out his hand. Hinata blushed again.

Juugo didn't seem to notice as she hesitantly held out her own hand. Yes. She was afraid. Nobody could blame the girl. He gently gripped her wrist. His current grip was such a contrast to what she had experienced when he'd grabbed her ankle back in the hospital. Much like his demeanor. She stammered briefly. _'Don't faint. Don't faint.' _she pleaded with herself. He brought the little feathered creature to her finger and let it step off onto the more feminine digit. Hinata stared in surprise when he pulled away. The bird simply ruffled it's feathers and chirped. "See? She likes you." he smiled brightly. She gently stroked the fluffy feathers with a finger. Hinata felt a new pang of pity for this missing-nin before her. It just wasn't fair. Someone like him to have this…condition forced upon him. To be forced to always be locked away for the sake of others.

Yet he was still so caring towards others. Then again she supposed that someone who deserved to be locked up like that should never have such raw power at their disposal. "Are my team-mates fine?" he asked her. "Hai, I spoke to them earlier." she nodded. "And Sasuke-san?" he inquired. "Out with Naruto and Sakura." she informed. "I see. He likes them." he said simply. "I know he does, because he never spoke to us or stayed in a close proximity to us they way he does with them." Hinata listened silently. "Juugo…do you happen to know why you are like this?" she asked him. He shrugged. "Kabuto-san…he mentioned something about the enzymes that I produce but I don't want to talk about Orochimaru's lair." he hugged his knees. She instantly backed off. "That's fine." she held up her hands.

Neji reappeared just then beckoning her with his eyes and a slight nod as if to say, 'it's time'. "Juugo…I have to go now okay?" she smiled at him. He nodded. "It was nice to meet you Hinata-san." he bowed once again. "Arigato. It was nice meeting you too." she nodded. She gave him back the little bird he had been playing with. He smiled. The Hyugga stood up and walked off towards her cousin.

………..

Juugo watched the nice girl walk away with a slight smile on his face. She probably wouldn't come back but it was nice talking to her anyway. 'She's pretty.' he thought and placed the little bird back in it's nest. He saw her turn around to look at him over her shoulder once more and waved. She gingerly did the same.

……….

The poor Hyugga heiress was at a loss. This was quite a crisis. What a burden of information she had on her shoulders. "Hinata…is everything okay?" Neji asked noticing her dismay. She gave a start and looked at her older cousin. _'Should I tell him?' _she wondered worriedly. Neji was a very duty bound shinobi. If he knew…who was to stop him from informing Tsunade or the council. She shuddered. _'He wouldn't go to the council would he?' _No. Her cousin was many things but he wasn't that cruel. But he would feel duty bound to tell Tsunade and then where would they be?

It was not as though she did not trust her Hokage to be fair but knowing this could put her into a very bad situation with the council. No. She had to do something, but she couldn't keep it to herself. Could she tell? Could she live with herself if she were responsible for his death? Remembering her encounter with the polite soft-spoken guy, gently cradling a little bird in his hands…she knew she could not. "Hinata." Neji prompted, displeased by her silence. "It's nothing Neji-kun." she blurted. He frowned. "You're lying." he blunted. "I don't have a desire to discuss it Neji-san." she glared, tired of being treated like a child. She was his leader not the other way around. He backed down right away.

With a huff they walked onward. She needed to tell someone…yes that much was true. However this someone needed to care for Juugo's well being as much as she did right now. They would also have to have extensive medical knowledge due to what he mentioned about enzymes. _'Medical…That's it!' _she applauded herself. _'Sakura.' _surely Sakura could help formulate a plan before they brought this up to Tsunade. The pink-haired medic's skills with the human anatomy and her experience with curse-seals would be ideal if put to the right use.

She turned abruptly to face Neji, who paused looking at her with a puzzled expression. Before he could speak she piped up calmly. "I have a need to talk to somebody on an urgent matter Neji-kun…please tell Hanabi to continue my paper work until I am back." she said standing up straight. Neji fought the urge to grin at his little cousin and nodded. "Yes Hinata-sama." he said impassively with a bow and walked off.

'_Perfect.' _she thought scanning the area. _'Now to find Sakura.' _Byakuggan eyes looked around the crowd. This wasn't helping. Although the Byakuggan was excellent at sensing presences it was blatantly color blind. The tell-tale pink of the Haruno girl's hair would save a lot of time right now. That being said there were too many presences walking around. Hinata would just have to use logical reasoning. She was with Naruto so the best place to look would be Ichiraku's and the training grounds considering Sasuke was with them today.

She hurried along to check all the most likely places to find team seven. She asked around for them. They were a very hard bunch to miss. A one-eyed man with grey hair, and famous medic who happened to have pink hair, and a brightly dressed loud-mouth, did not usually go unnoticed. Sai could pull it off maybe. As for the Uchiha, everybody knew who he was and how he looked and when he passed nobody didn't notice. She made for Ichiraku's and luckily they were still there. Hinata took a moment to observe them from her spot at the window.

There they sat Naruto babbling with his mouth full. Sasuke and Sakura were a bit hunched over as if exhausted or extremely annoyed, sitting on either side of him. Kakashi sat beside them, (although at a distance) observing them with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. Hinata sweat-dropped at the number of empty ramen bowls. She decided to enter. As she made her way over she saw Ichiraku staring at the pile of bowls and passing out. Ami rushed to her father's side worriedly. They all stood and looked over the counter with concern. She resisted the urge to laugh. It was certainly not funny for poor Mister Ichiraku.

"Oh Kami is he alright!?" Sakura exclaimed. She turned and bonked Naruto on the head. "Baka!! You over-whelmed the poor man!!"

"Ow!! Sakura-chan!" he whined in protest rubbing his head. Sasuke sat impassively as ever on the sidelines. "Hello guys." Hinata smiled politely. They all turned. "Hey Hinata!" Sakura smiled. It was funny how she could go from homicidal, to friendly girl next door within a split second. "HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered. They all winced. "Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke grumbled. "You don't tell me what to do-!"

"Naruto…" Sakura cracked her knuckles, eyes hidden behind unruly pink bangs. "Ahhh! I'm sorry Sakura-chan. Don't kill me." cerulean blue eyes pleaded with the pinkette. "Good." she perked and turned back to Hinata. "What brings you here?" she asked happily.

Hinata sweat-dropped once again. "I have to talk to you about something important." she said. "In private." she added look at the others. "Eh? Why can't we know too?" Naruto inquired. "Shut up Naruto." The Haruno medic scolded. "Of course Hinata." she nodded. "Good..um….follow me." she motioned. Neither of them noticed the eyes of the inquisitive Uchiha following their forms. "What could she have to say to Sakura that she can't let us here?" he asked suspiciously. "Oh teme stop being so paranoid, you're not in Sound anymore. It's probably girl stuff…like maxi-pads and stuff like that." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Maxi…what?" Sai looked puzzled. The three ninja remained silent and Kakashi cleared his throat. "Oh boy…I think we need to give Sai 'the talk'." he announced. Sasuke and Naruto both head-walled the counter.

………….

"Hinata slow down." Sakura coaxed. "You're worrying me…what is wrong with Juugo?" she asked her. Hinata took deep breaths. "The curse-seal…" she trailed nervously. "What about it?" Sakura became stern. "I talked to him today Sakura." White eyes held an urgent light. "And?" the pinkette pressed anxiously. "H-he…he doesn't.." she took a deep breath. "He doesn't actually have one." she pushed out. Emerald eyes widened now matching the pearly-white ones before them.

"But how?" she asked. "I don't know…he said something about enzymes and…Kabuto but he refused to talk about his experiences and I was afraid to push." Hinata was now calming herself down. "I don't blame you, that was smart." Sakura nodded with assurance. "Have you told anyone else about this?" she asked Hinata. "Just you…I thought that we could find a way to help with before we run it by Tsunade-sama..what with the council and all." she looked down. Sakura seemed to be deep in thought. "I agree." she nodded, but something was off in her expression. Her lips were now set in a hard line.

"Ano….is something wrong?" Hinata asked her, worried about her friend. She shook her head. "It's nothing." The Hyugga girl wasn't convinced but would not press the matter for now. She trusted Sakura. "So he said enzymes huh? I suppose that this is a natural problem then, but it seems so strange since enzymes in labs are usually produced by the fermentation of genetically modified microorganisms." She was now in medic mode. "A problem with his genes?" Hinata raised a brow. "Yes…but maybe there is some sort of cells that are out of order and are somehow connected with his chakra channels somehow." she stroked her chin.

People were starting to stare at the two girls suspiciously. "We should talk about this in my office." Hinata looked around warily. "I'm sorry Hinata but I was given the task to baby-sit the Uchiha today…I'm his parole officer…whoop de frickin doo. Isn't that awesome?" she rolled her eyes. She seemed incredibly angered at the thought of the Uchiha just now. Hinata was concerned that there was something wrong between her pinkette friend and the raven-haired Uchiha. "Did…Sasuke-san..do something?" she asked. "Don't worry about it Hinata-chan." Sakura cracked her neck. "O-okay…so tomorrow…please." Hinata said urgently. "First thing in the morning." Sakura confirmed. With a nod Hinata was off.

…………

To say that Sakura was enraged was an understatement. She stormed over to the counter where her team-mates sat. Kakashi turned around just in time to see her expression. "Sakura-"

POOOWWW!!!!

In an instant the pinkette had Sasuke pinned to the wall with her fist raised. "YOU!" she snarled. The Uchiha seemed stunned as he stared down at his female team-mate. "Sakura what are you doing!?" Kakashi demanded. "SAKURA-CHAN-!" Naruto was cut off by a stern. "Stay out of this Naruto!" from the enraged medic. "What's wrong with ugly?" Sai said looking genuinely concerned for once. "Sakura explain." Kakashi stood up. She dropped her raven-haired team-mate to the floor resisting the urge to kick him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded through clenched teeth. His face went back to normal upon realization. She had finally found out. Black fathomless eyes looked up at her stoically. "Don't give me that." she held up a finger. "I know that you know what I'm talking about!" He simply stared and folded his arms looking at the wall with a superior air. Sakura bit her lip so hard that she drew blood. "Kakashi…I have to take Uchiha-san back to the interrogation room at the prison, don't send Ibiki…that will be unnecessary." she told her ex-sensei calmly. After a moment of hesitation he nodded. Sasuke gave him an incredulous look.

"What did he do?" he asked her. "I'm afraid that out of respect for…certain people, I am not at liberty to tell you guys just yet…but I assure you this guy already knows." she narrowed her eyes at Sasuke coldly. Naruto watched the scene with concern but said nothing. "Come on Sasuke. Let's go." she turned her back on him. "Hn." he responded standing up.

………

Hinata went back to bed feeling as though she had left a puzzle piece out of place. At least she could continue her conversation with Sakura in the morning. Until then…she would have to meditate on keeping calm. Juugo deserved her help. So she would give it to him to the best of her ability.

* * *

Okay I took care of the stupid underline of which I have no idea from whence it came :(. Anywayz to Bumble555: YEAH!! Karin haters unite!! *raises fist in triumph* she will get hers dont worry.


	7. Understandings and Agreements

Author's Note: I keep finding grammatical errors every time I read my chappies urrrgh. Anyways I have decided to update weekly so I'd have more time to proof-read. I'm usually pretty fast but we shall see what pace I choose. I feel like I'm losing my reviewers L it makes me sad. SAD IS BAD! ….p.s. I've been thinking about putting a little sasusaku in the background plz lemme know what you guys think. ONWARD! CHAAARGE!!.

Disclaimer: The Kyubbi-vessel and his buddies ain't mine.

**Chapter 6: Understandings and Agreements**

Hinata sat patiently in her office, waiting for Sakura to show up. She had said first thing in the morning so she trusted her. She had told Neji and Hanabi that she was expecting her that morning. So here she was at her desk waiting. The doors to her office creaked open and Neji entered. "Sakura-san is here." he told her as Sakura followed in behind him. Neji looked bothered by something. The medic looked absolutely dreadful. "Good morning Hinata." she said wearily. "Good morning." Hinata nodded puzzled and concerned. "Did you get enough sleep last night?" she inquired. "Ugh…" Sakura sat down and rested her head on her desk. Pink hair blocking her face.

"You don't look well." she shook her head. "I'm fine Hinata, really…it's just…" She was silent for a long moment before speaking up again. "Uchiha-san really gave me a hard time last night that's all." she frowned. Hinata nodded in understanding. "I do not know him as well as you do, but it's plain to see he is very hard to deal with." she admitted. "He's a prick." Neji spat bluntly. Sakura let out a sigh. "Please refrain from such harsh words Neji-kun." Hinata frowned but stated professionally. "No. He's right." Sakura grumbled sitting up. Hinata could now see that her eyes were red-rimmed as well as tired…. As if she'd been crying. "I'd like to get down to business now." she murmured taking out a few books. "Oh, yes. Neji-kun please step out." Hinata smiled apologetically. He raised a brow but did so.

"And don't you dare try to listen at the door!" Sakura called after him warningly. He huffed. The girls were not sure whether it was an amused or insulted huff. "So what do you think is wrong with Juugo?" Hinata inquired. "I'm not completely sure yet, but I have a theory." Sakura admitted rubbing her face. "Enzymes…if we are in fact dealing with enzymes.. Are naturally produced by living cells in the body, usually towards a purpose, like digestion you see…maybe something could be wrong with the cells that make up his chakra channels." she murmured. "They are producing something that makes his nervous system go wacky or something." she added. Hinata was deep in thought. "His chakra channels did not close up completely when I used soft-fist." she shook her head in deep recollection. "Maybe production was just too excessive and the chakra was overflowing." Sakura suggested.

"Maybe if we question Sasuke-san…" Hinata stopped mid-sentence. She did not want to upset her distraught friend even more. Sakura just let out a shaky sigh. "If you think you can get him to talk to you." she waved dismissively. There was a brief moment of silence between them. "D-do..do you mind m-me asking…what exactly happened last night?" she wrung her hands in embarrassment. There go the stutters. Would she always do this when she was uncomfortable? Sakura looked up sharply but softened after a moment. "Maybe later Hinata." she smiled apologetically at the saintly Hyugga girl. Hinata -not being one to push her friends- simply nodded. Emerald eyes smiled gratefully. "What I don't understand is why do his symptoms behave so similarly to a curse-seal?" Hinata rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully. Sakura furrowed her brow. "I don't know.." she trailed.

"Sakura."

"AHH!!" the two girls yelped. "I told you to wait outside!!" Sakura snapped. "Hn." Uchiha Sasuke just shrugged and remained where he stood. They looked around. "How did you even get in here?" she demanded. There was no way he would have gotten past Neji. "The window is open." he blunted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. They sweat-dropped. "You brought him?" Hinata asked. Sakura sighed.

"Yes…but I wanted to prep you guys before he was seen. I don't think Neji is going to be too happy that you scaled Hinata's office walls." she said wearily, massaging her temples. "Hn." he responded once again. "I'm sorry Hinata." she shook her head. "Well this saves…time I suppose." the pearly eyed girl shrugged. Sakura sighed once again. "You were discussing Juugo's similarities with the behavior of the curse-seal." Sasuke suddenly piped up. They stared at him incredulously. "You're cooperating?" Sakura's eyes popped. "Hn. I don't see why not." he shrugged. There was an awkward silence. "Well…talk." the pinkette prompted.

"The answer to that is simple. Juugo is the element responsible for the creation of the curse-seal in the first place." he calmly took a seat and closed his eyes meditatively. The two women stared at him absorbing the tiny piece of information he gave them. "Elaborate please." Hinata nodded. He opened his eyes. "Orochimaru used the enzymes that Juugo produces to imitate his condition in other shinobi." he began. "He studied the mutation of his chakra cells and with Kabuto's assistance, created a means to imitate the mutation in any subject of choice." he informed, closing his eyes once again. "Oh Kami." Sakura breathed. "So…Juugo is the first technical victim of the 'curse seal'." Hinata remarked, looking out the window. "Hn." he responded.

"I suppose that means yes." Sakura remarked dryly. "H..how do you know all of this Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked. "While I was in Sound I had to do thorough background checks of my future team-mates. I had to make plans early on." he explained. "Hm." Sakura leaned back thinking deeply. "So now that we know the basics of Juugo's little problem…perhaps we can think of something to help him." Hinata murmured. "How?" Sasuke inquired. "Well…if the mutation can be produced in others…then maybe it can be reversed." Sakura commented. Hinata's eyes lit up. "We will need to start from square one and study one of the curse-seal victims." she stated. Everyone knew what the universal thought in the room was but no one stated it aloud.

"I will do it." Sasuke stated. "You are aware of the precautions?" Hinata raised a brow warily. The Uchiha responded with a nod. Sakura stared at him. "You want to help anyway?" she breathed. He gave her an unreadable glance before nodding once again. Hinata watched the exchange with interest. After a moment the medic nodded and looked out the open window. She smiled a bit. Hinata cleared her throat. "Well then I guess it's safe to say that Sasuke-san is in on our plan." she stated making sure to sound confident. "Hn." the Uchiha grunted once again.

"When do we start?" Sakura inquired curiously. "As soon as possible." Hinata remarked. "Now." Sasuke demanded.

"Eh?"

"N-nani?"

"I want to start this now." he said sternly. "But…Sasuke we don't know anything yet." Sakura reasoned. "We need to get a feel of your chakra first, and then we have to take samples of chakra cells." Hinata told him. "You can do that?" Sakura asked. "Hai. With Neji as a test subject I managed to do it." she said regrettably. "Thank Kami he's okay." she added. "The Hyugga bastard is too stubborn to die." Sasuke stoically remarked. "Uchiha, stop making remarks like that about our host's family." Sakura scolded. The raven-haired shinobi simply shrugged. "He apologizes Hinata…don't you Sasuke?" she said with a dangerous undertone in her voice. He stared momentarily. "Hn." he folded his arms and looked away. "That means 'yes' in Uchiha speak." she told her serenely.

Hinata nodded awkwardly. "Yes..w-well, we will need to take samples from Juugo's chakra as well. But I am not sure how to go about that." she told her two conspirators. "That is true." Sakura looked at Sasuke. "He hates hospital rooms, and he panics when we mention tests or anything like it." she recalled. "Don't tell him." Sasuke shrugged. "I don't think that would be wise Sasuke-san." Hinata frowned. "Do you have any other alternatives? Unless you'd rather sedate him…like Tsunade." He reminded them coldly. Sakura winced. "That isn't fair." she shook her head. "I hadn't wanted to but…I didn't know how else to calm him down." she sighed guiltily.

"You are unnecessarily upsetting Sakura." Hinata frowned. "What happened was not your fault." she assured her pink-haired friend. "We will just have to go through with it." she sighed. "As long as you don't hurt him you will be fine." Sasuke stated.

"It is a fairly painless process but there will be stinging so I am not sure if he will assume the worst or not." Hinata bit her lip. "He has experienced far worst pain." he assured. "I doubt he'd even feel it after all he's been through." he added. "It might not hurt him but what tools did Kabuto use on him? We might have a problem if what we use is similar." Sakura folded her arms. He shrugged once again. "This is getting us nowhere." Hinata groaned uncharacteristically. There was a knock. "Hinata-sama w-…Uchiha!" Neji hissed. "Oh boy. Neji-kun calm down." Sakura held up her arms stepping in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha simply stepped in front of her. "Is there a problem Hyugga?" he glared. "Cool it guys!" Sakura pleaded. "What is he doing here!?" he white-eyed ANBU demanded pointing at him.

"STOP IT!" Hinata shouted. They all winced at the rare volume of her voice. "There will be ABSOLUTELY NO FIGHTING in this office UNDERSTAND!?" she slammed her hands on her desk. They flinched and backed away. Sakura smiled proudly. "Now…we must-" "Hinata-sama." Neji interrupted stepping forward. "What is it?" she asked. "The Hokage has summoned us." he informed gravely. "What for?" she asked curiously. "It's…the council they heard about the incident at the hospital with…you-know-who." he stated. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances. Hinata felt her stomach drop and twist. "We better get going right now." Sakura urged. "Let's go." Hinata prompted in agreement. "I am coming." Sasuke insisted. "You would have no choice anyway." Sakura grabbed him by the arm and proceeded to drag him off. Hinata and Neji ran close behind them. "The council might not approve of his presence." Neji warned. "Sasuke is under my supervision today so if they don't like it they can slice their wrists." Sakura huffed as she ran on.

……………

"Execution is necessary." a member of the council stated stubbornly. "It was a fluke." Tsunade explained. "We have reached complications that need more looking into that is all." she told them. "He is too dangerous to be worth all of this trouble!" another shouted. "I would appreciate it if this could wait until my apprentice has arrived." she stated. There was grumbling. "You have questionable teaching skills if she is still not here." the first council man commented. Tsunade glared.

"My apprentice is fulfilling her duties with the Uchiha boy. She will be here shortly." she informed curtly. He scoffed. "The Uchiha boy should be dead as well." he blunted. A few murmurs of disagreement were heard among the council. "DON'T YOU DARE RAISE THREATS TO THE TEME YOU OLD FART!" Naruto who was sitting among the witnesses roared. "Quiet!" Tsunade bellowed. "This is not the discussion at hand!" Kakashi pulled Naruto back into his seat. Suddenly the doors busted open. "We're here shisou! Sorry for not coming quicker." Sakura panted out of breath. Hinata and Neji jogged in after her. Uchiha Sasuke seemed undaunted by the run. "Go sit over there." Sakura pointed to where Naruto sat. People stared in shock that the young Uchiha was here.

"Hyugga-san. You have made it." the Hokage nodded to her. Hinata nodded in return. "Now that everyone is accounted for, can we get to confirming subject D's execution?" a council man asked.

"No!" Hinata and Sakura said at once.

All eyes were on them now. "We feel that we can eliminate the problem." Hinata said confidently. "We allowed you to run your test. He is too dangerous and that is the end of our discussion." another member piped up. "He has not hurt anybody yet." Sakura commented. "'Yet' you say." he answered wryly. She huffed folding her arms. "I've had enough!" Naruto stood up and walked toward the front shocking the crowd. Kakashi at first was compelled to stop him but something told him to let him do this. "You are going to let Hinata-chan, and Sakura-chan, help Juugo." he ordered. "How dare you-"

"NO!" He shouted. "Don't even try! You officially announced that Sakura-chan and the bacchan could perform TESTS! As is more than one, and you gave them three weeks to make progress not two days!" He informed. There was silence. Tsunade smiled proudly. "Well said Naruto." she complimented. He cornered them there. "Those were your orders." she smirked. "I don't think you can go back on your word in front of all these people, can you?" she inquired. There was a silence as the elders whispered amongst themselves. "Very well." the head council man conceded. Naruto smiled triumphantly and gave Sakura, Hinata, and Neji a thumbs up.

Sasuke smirked from where he sat. Who knew the dobe was capable? Kakashi's singled visible eye was shining with a grin. As he made his way over and sat down Sasuke spoke. "It looks like you have a use after all." he murmured. "Shove it, teme." he answered through a toothy grin and a cheery tone. "Hn." he scoffed.

"I would like to request that we are allowed to take Juugo from his cell anytime necessary." Hinata stated professionally. "Granted." Tsunade said smugly. "And we will need Sasuke." Sakura added in. "Also granted." she added. There were a few gasps. "Uchiha Sasuke is the ultimate defense against Juugo's outbursts." Tsunade snapped shutting them up. "It's settled then." Sakura smiled happily. "We have three weeks to make progress." she turned to Hinata. She smiled at Naruto in a way that meant 'you are so getting glomped later'. Hinata felt an immense sense of relief and thanked Kami that she hadn't fainted in front of the council.

The worst was over for now. She looked at Neji who offered a subtle smirk. She smiled softly to herself. Now the real work would begin. With the help of Sakura and Sasuke hopefully they could reverse Juugo's mutation. "Meeting is adjourned." Tsunade's voice broke into her thoughts. After the initial relief had passed, an anxiety took over. She refused to fail. Sakura hugged her enthusiastically. "Let's get down to business Hinata-chan!" she giddily cheered. Sasuke came up behind them with Naruto waving happily. True to her word Sakura pounced on her knuckle-headed friend.

"I love you Naruto-kun!!" she squeezed. "S-saku..chan…air..air." he wheezed. "Sakura are you planning on killing the dobe before he can become the next Hokage?" Sasuke remarked. Sakura dropped Naruto apologetically. "She would probably be doing the village a favor." Sai said boredly, drawing in his sketch book. "Hey watch it!!" Naruto pointed at him. Hinata smiled fondly. "Come with us Hinata!! We're gonna celebrate at-

"Not Ichiraku again." Sasuke remarked. "Let's go somewhere else." Sai agreed. "Is this emo's gang up on Naruto day or something?" Naruto huffed. Sakura laughed. "Maybe some variety would do us good Naruto-kun." she patted his shoulder. "Aww not you too Sakura." he whined. "Ano..I agree." Hinata nodded. With that the group was off.

* * *

Author's Note: Ugh I'm tired of sitting at this computer. My eyes are burning lol xD. Anywayz Review Please!!! To Lawloburst: Yes Sakura truly is a bad *****. Poor poor Sasuke...he knows he likes it xD. Secretly. I'm glad you like it so far.


	8. No Sleep Tonight

Author's Note: Juugo is in this chappie so not to worry. xD. Hopefully I can proof read this one a little better. My week has not exactly been awesome (personal reasons). Sakura and Hinata really have their work cut out for them. After all they are working with the two worst patients I can think of lol. Not to worry though they have their homies to support them! Anyway I hope you guys like it. Chappie time!!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto Karin would die in every episode in the worst way possible. If not forever.

**Chapter 7: No Sleep Tonight**

Juugo sat all alone once again. Bored. Anxious. Lonely. What was new? This hospital was really getting on his nerves. He sighed. Some of the nurses were really nice to him but…most refused to even get within five feet of him. Not surprising. Sound had been no different in that aspect. Hence the reason he was always cooped up in that place. Until Sasuke-san that is. He hated this cell. He wished that he were back with in prison with Suigetsu…and even Karin…well…maybe not Karin. She made him nervous. At least he would not be alone. Sakura-san had not come to give him sliced apples today. He had been very disappointed.

He didn't get any visitors lately besides her. At this thought his memory reverted to a certain pair of soft, pearly, slightly lavender colored eyes. It was a pleasant memory. One among very few. She was kind to him after what he had done to her. Almost killing her like that. He would probably never come across someone like her again. He had thought she was pretty. Well she was. Even though he scolded himself for it, it could not be denied. He determined that he was meant to be locked up and that it was not fair of him to think about the fairer sex like that. He scrunched up his face. How stupid. 'Think of something else.' he growled to himself.

……….

After eating sushi the night before Hinata felt collected enough. She and Sakura had decided to start today. They would take chakra samples from Sasuke-san, and then Juugo. Then they could take the samples to be studied in the lab. The only problem was that Sasuke needed to be mildly affected by his curse-seal to make a proper comparison. Her head held the dull ache of a migraine growing. "Hinata-chan do you want some Midol?" Sakura asked kindly. "U-uh oh! Yes thank you Sakura-chan." she nodded wearily. They sat in the pink-haired kunoichi's apartment. It was early in the morning and they were eating before they went over to the hospital. Sakura was cutting some green apples and putting them in a Tupperware.

"Here." she turned to her handing her a glass of water. She placed the top on the plastic container with a pop. Then she placed the Midol in her hand and placed the apples in her pack. She was quite the multi-tasker. "Juugo is going to be happy to get out today." she smiled making conversation. Hinata nodded downing the pain-killers with the water. Sasuke sat quietly in the background. "And I know Mr. Raincloud is glad to be out too, even though he's being anti-social right now." she added not even looking at him. He gave a brief crescent look over his shoulder before snorting with disdain. "We owe a lot to Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke softly. "Yeah I'm gonna go out for ramen with him tonight actually." Sakura reminded herself. Sasuke shot her a look but looked straight ahead once more. Hinata stared momentarily at the Uchiha before continuing the conversation with the green-eyed medic.

"You mean a…date?" she inquired. "Oh no! Kami no!" Sakura laughed to herself. "We just haven't spent much time together lately." she explained. "Sasuke is being a sour-puss cause he isn't invited." she glared at him. The young avenger still remained silent. Sakura always seemed to be angry with him lately. It made Hinata wonder. "Now. I'm getting a bit off schedule by now I would have brought Juugo his apples, he's probably wondering. Let's go." she perked. Hinata stood up. "Hn." Sasuke huffed as he did the same. Sakura twitched.

"We'd better hurry." Hinata kept the two on track. She pulled Sakura by the arm. Sasuke followed wordlessly behind them. Once again it was the three of them. Hinata was missing Neji. He made her feel more in her element. To the villagers it seemed strange to see two of the most beloved kunoichi in the Hidden Leaf with…him. The traitor. Following behind them like a docile puppy dog. What was next the weapon's mistress too? Hinata gave them a stern glance and they would look away immediately. If they thought this looked bad, imagine the reactions when they walked out of the hospital with the berserker, 'Subject D'.

……………

Neji was unhappy. Hinata had deliberately left him out of the loop. He sat at home sulking. She told him to stay while she went to Sakura-san's home. She had brushed him off. What's worse that damn Uchiha was in their little circle. What did he even have to do with anything?! Okay so he _was _the only one who could drag that psycho out of his crazed killing sprees but still! Why couldn't he help? Or at least know what was going on? Hinata was hiding something from him. He knew that ever since he picked her up from her visit with…Juugo? Yes that was his name. She refused to admit it too. It hurt that she couldn't trust him. After all that they had been through.

"Neji? Neji come on I know you're there!" there was knocking on his door as a familiar voice called to him. He sighed. "Open up." she called in a sing-song tone. "Ten-ten." He murmured to himself. There was more knocking as he stood up. She was finally waiting patiently when he opened up the door. "Is there a problem Ten-ten?" he inquired. He would admit he was…kinda happy to see her but still…all of that banging was unnecessary. "Lee and I have decided to draw the line." she said simply. He frowned. "What?" he raised a brow. "We haven't seen you in days…so…we're kidnapping you, it's going to be team-mate day for you." she declared. "Team-mate-wha-…Ten-ten have you been inhaling too much smoke from your bombs?" he inquired. "Har har. Come on let's go before I decide to get rough with you." She dragged him off by the arm. Neji simply looked up at the sky and sighed. Well it was better than sulking…maybe.

…….

"This sucks balls." Suigetsu remarked. Karin huffed, ignoring him. "Sasuke gets to be out hanging with all the interesting people and I'm stuck in here with you." he added like a spoiled child. Karin flicked him off. He rolled his eyes. "I feel so unimportant." she whined. "That's because you are. Did it really take you this long to notice?" he responded, annoyed at the sound of her voice. "Burn in hell." she retorted. "As long as I'm not in the pit next to yours." he scoffed. It was a lot easier to be stuck in here when Juugo and Sasuke were there too. Karin's flirtations although incredibly annoying to the point where the mist-nin wanted to eat his own ears so he didn't have to listen, caused reaction from Sasuke that were quite hilarious as of recent. Like that morning.

**Flashback: **

"Good morning Sasuke-kun." Karin cooed through the bars to the Uchiha's cell. At first he did not respond. "Aren't you going to say good morning to us?" she batted her eye lashes. Even though he couldn't see them. Which he thanked Kami for. "Hn." he said simply. "It's five in the frickin morning Karin, shut the fuck up." Suigetsu growled, putting a pillow over his head. "I'm not talking to you fish stick!" she screeched briefly. Sasuke shivered. Suigetsu snickered. "So Sasuke-kun, since you killed your brother…what now?" she asked coyly. "Are you finally looking for a Uchiha matriarch?" she pressed closer to the bars. Sasuke could not help but grimace. "Get away." he backed off harshly. Suigetsu snorted.

"Karin get a clue, and a life while you're at it." he commented. The idiot just couldn't take a hint. It's wasn't even a hint either it was a totally blunt…'Not in this lifetime or any lifetime after that.' "It's just a question." she crooned. "I like kids." she added with a shrug. Suigetsu let out a short bark of laughter. Sasuke gave her a disgusted snarl. This only served to make Suigetsu laugh more. Then there was the sound of opening doors. They all went silent. Footsteps sounded down the corridor. "Uchiha, on your feet lets go." a familiar pink head came into view.

The look of relief on the accomplished avenger's face was too much. Suigetsu covered his face with his pillow to smother his laughter. "What do you want, bitch?" Karin growled. "None of your business, slut." she responded curtly. Sasuke stood impassively. "Hn. It's about time." he remarked. His cell was opened and he stepped out. "It's five something a.m. I assumed you guys would be asleep." she looked at the other two. "I was but when Karin's voice started interrupting my dreams, I decided to wait until she was quiet before I fell asleep again. I don't need to get any nightmares now. By the way, good morning." he nodded. Sakura smiled slightly before nodding back. "Good morning."

"Are we going?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Keep your pants on." she answered dryly. Karin watched in disapproval at how much history could be seen between her Sasuke-kun and this other girl just by how they talked together. Sakura motioned for him to follow and he did so…like a silent watch dog. Suigetsu scoffed at her. "Staring is impolite." he told her before turning over and going back to sleep.

**End Flashback:**

Now here he sat alone with her and her creepy obsession. It was not as though he could sleep the entire day. So he had to sit awake and deal with her now. To top it off it was boring as hell in the prison. "You! Shark boy!" a guard walked in startling him. "You rang?" he drawled. "Let's go. The Godaime Hokage wishes to see your case first." he told him. Suigetsu frowned slightly before standing up. "Good. It was getting dull in here." he replied as the door opened. He was cuffed just as he stepped out. "I need to talk to her anyway." he added.

……..

"Sakura-san?" Juugo smiled as he heard her open his cell. "Good morning Juugo did you sleep well?" she greeted. He nodded. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here earlier this morning was a bit hectic for me, here are your apples." she handed the plastic container to him. "Thank you." he responded. "I have someone with me too." she stepped aside, allowing Sasuke and Hinata to enter. "Sasuke-san. I'm so glad to see you." he beamed. He could hardly believe his luck. All that was missing was Suigetsu. "Hello Hinata-san. I..I didn't think that I would see _you _again." he remarked happily. 'She's here.' he thought.

"Y-yes…good morning Juugo-kun." she nodded softly. Juugo's face snapped back to her at the sound of the suffix. 'Juugo-_kun.' _It sounded to nice. "Juugo-kun?" Sasuke raised a brow. "You've spoken to him?" he asked. "Yes she has." Sakura interjected. "And there isn't anything wrong with that." Sasuke remained silent. Hinata nodded to Sakura briefly. "You're coming with us today Juugo-kun…w-w-we want to see if we ca-n h-help you." she stammered '_UUUGGHH If Neji-kun could hear me stumbling over my words like this he'd kill me! Kuso! Why Hinata!? WHY!?' _internally she was tearing her hair out. "Yes. Sasuke-k…Sasuke, Hinata, and I are going to be seeing a lot of you lately." Sakura smiled.

The red-headed shinobi felt his heart leap. Thank Kami. He wouldn't have to be cooped up all the time. He noticed Hinata turn around and smack herself in the forehead. _'Cute.' _he thought as he smiled to himself. "Hn." Sasuke folded his arms. He looked back and forth at his companions for the day. At least it wasn't Karin. He felt as though he could deal with anything but her at this moment. "So let's get down to business." Sakura clapped. Hinata snapped out of it. "Eep! Yes thank you Sakura-chan." she nodded. "Juugo come with us." she motioned. Juugo followed readily. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Training grounds." Sasuke blunted. "We think you…shouldn't be in the hospital when we have our meetings since…you've had bad experiences." Hinata paused every once in a while, determined not to speak if she was going to stutter. She was willing away her blush. The poor thing just felt too embarrassed over losing her grip earlier.

She knew Sakura noticed and most likely Sasuke too but his opinion did not exactly count for much. She could not help but be in awe of the serene gentle giant walking beside her. It was hard to imagine him as a monster. Sasuke-san seemed to be on edge. He walked close to the girls and kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. Villagers stared at them with even more alarm than before. Harsh murmurs were heard. "Well…if they don't take out pitchforks we'll be fine." Sakura whispered under her breath into Hinata's ear jokingly. She could not help but smile.

Suddenly she caught sight of brown hair and a white dog in her peripheral vision. "Kiba-kun." she whispered. He noticed her and smiled before staggering back at the sight of Juugo. She shook her head no, and motioned for him to remain quiet. He frowned but nodded anyway. She gave him a frown that meant 'I mean it' and he responded with a huff and another nod. Shino appeared beside him from inside the bar and before he could say anything Kiba covered his mouth. The others noticed them. "They can keep quiet can't they?" Sasuke narrowed onyx eyes at them. "Yes." Hinata said ready to defend them. "Sasuke stop." Sakura warned. He looked at her. "Probation." she reminded. He stood down and kept walking. "Hn." he huffed. Juugo furrowed his eyebrows but said nothing.

They continued on in silence. Occasionally they exchanged glances. All except Sasuke who remained introverted to his own thoughts as usual. Hinata stood straight as if to say to everyone who saw them that she was in fact worth something, and that she challenged anybody to try and stop her from associating with these men. Sakura ignored everybody who looked as if she were not doing anything out of the ordinary by being here. Juugo was not oblivious. He may have been a bit unstable but he knew when people feared and hated others. He was not stupid, but he could not blame them. He had resolved that he would remain locked up to protect others from himself a long time ago. It was not in his nature to enjoy suffering. There was once a time when he had dreamed of ridding himself of this…curse of his. Then he could have a life. Get married and have children. It was painful to think about after he let the idea go. So he just…didn't think anymore. However…now…he stole a glance at the dark-haired Hyugga girl and tore his gaze away. He was hurting himself all the more.

They stopped. "Here we are." Sakura smiled serenely. "Hai." Hinata nodded. "We..we should get down to business." she replied. Sasuke 'hned' as usual. "Okay Hinata …what do you want us to do?" Sakura asked with the utmost confidence. "Sasuke-san." soft pearly eyes became stern and professional. The Uchiha nodded. "Sit there…under that tree." she pointed curtly. "Hn." he walked stonily to the large woody trunk and settled himself beneath it, leaning against the slightly rough bark. "Good…now I want you to focus." she told him kneeling in front of him. Juugo watched with interest and slight worry. Sakura nudged him with assurance. "Try to bring out the curse-seal Sasuke but whatever you do don't lose focus, keep a fast hold on your identity." she warned placing her hands on his temples.

……….

It had been hours as the four ninja patiently sat trying to gather Sasuke's chakra. "This isn't working." Sasuke blunted. "Neji's curse-seal took just as long however I think you are on to something Sasuke." Hinata commented. "Right." Sakura agreed. "Yes. Neji-kun's curse-seal was made for control and restrictions where as Sasuke's is an overwhelming excess of uncontrollable power, it fights against restrictions mental and otherwise." Hinata informed without a single stutter. White eyes were deep in thought. Sakura watched her, feeling greatly impressed by her friend's knowledge. "So what if we try to reverse the technique you're using to restrict his curse-seal?" Sakura remarked. "It's risky." Hinata responded. "But at this point…it's all we have to go on."

"Will it hurt?" Juugo inquired softly. "A little Juugo-kun." Hinata nodded. "But…nothing bad will happen to either of you." she promised. "However this may take all day…probably even all night." she remarked looking at Sakura. The pinkette simply nodded in agreement. "I'm up for it. Should I call Shizune to bring us coffee?" she smiled to show she was up for the game. "Not for the boys." Hinata shook her head. "But as for us….tell Shizune to get us some Cuban coffee…._black." _she emphasized. Sakura laughed. "You too huh? Two black Cuban's coming up." she said in a mock professional tone scurrying off. "No sleep tonight then huh?" Juugo smiled softly. "I guess not Juugo-kun…I guess not." Hinata smiled back, not the least bit afraid anymore.

Author's Note: Our girl's have their work cut out for them. What will the verdict be for Suigetsu? What will happen to Karin? Will Hinata and Sakura get a successful sample from Sasuke? Where the hell is Naruto!? Find out next time! Lol review people, review!


	9. Life Goes On

**Author's Note: (Please note that I love Suigetsu xD). P.S. I don't hate Karin because I'm a Sasusaku fan (even though I am), I hate her because she's creepy, and nobody deserves to be stuck with her. Speaking of which….I still haven't decided what her fate shall be. If you want me to go easy on her let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto okay!? Sheesh I'm just having a little fun. **

**Chapter Eight: Life Goes On. **

Suigetsu was perturbed and a little troubled. The sentence was pretty lenient. It had surprised him. Then again he was without village. It was a strange agreement. It all happened like this.

**Flashback:**

"Subject C." the big breasted alpha-chick addressed him. "I have a name." he frowned, sitting down. She gave him a warning look. "Do not give me sass. I might just change my mind." she told him amber eyes holding menace. "Okay, okay." he huffed. "You were cooperative according to Team Seven's report." Tsunade murmured. He nodded. "You have not done any direct harm to Konoha, you were never a direct follower of Orochimaru, and you are a skilled shinobi." she added. "You flatter me." he smirked. "Hush." she said flatly. "What are your plans?" the Hokage demanded. "None really, although I would like to settle down here, if that's alright of course." he grinned. "We are unsure as to whether or not we can trust you." Tsunade answered bluntly.

"Can't say that I blame you guys." he shrugged. "We will need time to decide what the permanent verdict will be but so far you are to be on probation. You will perform community service hours and be under the watch of a skilled ninja at all times." she said decidedly placing the papers back down on the desk before her. "Really? Wow that's…really decent of you." he smiled. "I think I'm gonna like it here."

Tsunade gave him a look. "Don't even think about taking advantage of our generosity we are usually much harsher, however my apprentice seems to like you well enough, and you have not made any intimation of being a threat to us, so do not push it." she stood up and pointed a finger at him. "Hey don't worry about me." he leaned back casually. "I'd have nothing to gain from being your enemy, besides I like the people here and the atmosphere too, though it's a bit dry." he admitted. "I like my water, you can understand I'm sure." he grinned once again. "Another thing." she piped up. "Do not talk to me as though I were one of your little friends. I'm not. As far as I'm concerned you are not yet trustworthy." Her face held disdain. "That's fine…Hokage-sama." he smirked. "You'll warm up to me eventually."

She rolled her eyes. "Now then." he looked around. "Who's gonna be my parole officer?" he gave a toothy grin. "Yamanaka was summoned a few minutes ago. She'll be here shortly." Tsunade told him curtly. "Alright I'm here!" a female voice called, startling the Mist-nin. "Do I finally get a damn mission!? Gods Tsunade-sama it's been like forever…" Suigetsu stared as she babbled on. 'Oh…my…._God.' _he thought to himself. What he saw…he liked…a lot. Yes…from it's shapely body to it's long platinum hair…he definitely liked it…a lot. He was not sure what to think of this. On one hand…._day-um_. However on the other hand…was this supposed to be some kind of insult? Not that he was complaining. Large baby blue eyes blinked at him. "Hello? I'm talking to you!" she waved her hand in front of his eyes. The dazed mist-nin blinked three times realizing she had said something to him. He hadn't realized this blonde had such a loud voice. Granted not nearly as loud as that Uzumaki kid but still.

He came back to his senses. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asked, standing up. "Puh-lease she looks like she just walked out of a Barbie catalog." he remarked to the annoyed looking Hokage. "Excuse me?" the bomb shell placed her hands on her hips. "Look you're cute and all, but you couldn't possibly be one of these guys." he motioned to the ANBU. She narrowed her eyes angrily. "Tsunade-sama, who is this bastard?" she demanded folding her arms and turning to face the Godaime. The mist-nin took this opportunity to check her out from behind with a wide toothy grin. A chubby ANBU member with red swirls on his cheeks kicked him behind the knee. "Hey!" he frowned at him. "Chouji that's enough." the Godaime scolded. He simply mumbled.

"Ino…this is Hozuki Suigetsu, or 'Subject C' if you prefer, he is under your charge for community service hours." she informed professionally. There was a silence. She looked at him and then back at Tsunade. "Are you serious?" she demanded. There were nods all around the room. Suigetsu merely shrugged when she looked back at him. "I guess I'm all yours." he smiled. Ino made a pinched face. "Is this a punishment?" she jutted out her bottom lip. "No. It's a mission. He is to work at the Yamanaka flower shop and then at the old folks home, and some hours at the pharmacy, he will also do volunteer work as a trash man." she told her. Ino pouted. "Old folks? Aw man." Suigetsu pouted similarly. Both of them folded their arms simultaneously making sulky expressions. "Fine. When does he start?" she asked flatly. "Tomorrow afternoon." Shizune said simply. "For now he goes back to his cell."

"I see. So I'm dismissed?" the platinum blonde inquired. "Yes Miss Yamanaka. You are dismissed." Tsunade nodded. Ino nodded back and turned to walk out. On the way out Suigetsu grinned at her. She simply responded with an evil glare that put Sasuke to shame. She exited the office soundlessly although everybody knew she was seething. "Oh boy." Chouji remarked. "Permission to call a team gathering just me, Ino and Shikamaru ma'am?" he asked. "Of course Chouji go on." She consented. He hurried after his female team-mate. "Ino!" Suigetsu could hear him calling after the hottie as she obviously hurried off. Probably stomping her feet as she went. He could tell just from the few moments he had spent in her presence that she would be one bossy bitch. Oh boy. Hopefully she wasn't as bad as Karin.

**End Flashback:**

So here he sat in the morning waiting for his parole officer to come get him. Karin was uncooperative and nobody seemed to like her very much. (Her own fault). Anyway he was not sure how they would deal with her. Now that Sasuke wasn't around… in fact he had been missing for the rest of the night, Karin spoke very little. (Thank Kami). Hopefully he would not have to hear her voice. "Are they killing you?" she asked him. 'Fuck my life!!' he yelled in his mind the moment he heard her voice. 'Okay she'll be quiet just one word responses.' he thought. "No." he answered. She huffed. "Shame." she answered. He rolled his eyes. "What the hell did they do with Sasuke?" she whined. "Shut up Karin. He's probably very busy." he muttered in annoyance. "All night?!" she responded. "Yes Karin." Suigetsu scoffed. "_All…night…long." _he emphasized. "Go to hell." she snarled. "Tried." he answered. "They kicked me out because I was having too much fun." he smirked.

"Hey Jaws!! On your feet time to go!"

Suigetsu could not help but smirk wider. Karin frowned slightly startled. She eyed the blonde beauty who now stood in front of Suigetsu's cell. "Who the hell is this playboy bunny wannabe?" she asked raising a brow and adjusting her glasses. Ino sharply glared. "My parole officer." Suigetsu shrugged. "Ha!" she barked sharply. "This place just keeps getting more and more pathetic." she gave a scoff eyeing the blonde kunoichi. "Listen sweetie." Ino flipped her hair. "Just because I came out easy on the eyes and you look like something a sick rat shit out does not make me any less skilled than you. Stop hating." she bit harshly. "Oooooooh." Suigetsu remarked. Karin glared in outrage.

"You-!"

"Come on Flounder." Ino unlocked his cell. "Let's go." she motioned for him to follow. "Yes ma'am." he grinned wickedly.

………………

They had done it. Well mildly anyway. Hinata had gotten a very good feel of Sasuke's chakra. The curse-seal had almost proved a problem but they managed to keep Sasuke's feet on the ground. Mostly with Sakura's help. She seemed to have a more of a hold on the beast in him than anybody could fathom. Hinata's nerves were frayed by now so they decided to stop. It was already morning when the four regained their track of time. They had not realized how long they'd been out. They got a sample. However small it was but it was a sample none the less. Now that the dark haired Hyugga had a better idea of what to do, if they needed a little more it would take much less time.

Juugo had been nervous the entire time. He did not want anybody to die on his behalf. He would rather stay locked up forever. Sasuke almost lost control on more than one occasion. Sakura coaxed him back to himself each time albeit nervously and a bit frantically. They had done the same for him but nothing had happened luckily. It was mostly due to Sasuke's presence among them. The Sharingan kept Juugo in a blissful state of unawareness. Now they took time to rest from their sleepless night. Hinata was in her house and Juugo went back to his cell in the hospital for a nap. Sakura had taken Sasuke to eat and planned to take him back to his cell afterwards. Hinata now sat meditating after a refreshing nap. She had not seen Neji at all yesterday. It made her wonder where her cousin was. She wore only a wife-beater, sweat pants, and socks, sitting on a plush pillow. Her Byakuggan was activated and she could see the garden outside. She smiled.

It was such a lovely place. No wonder her father had enjoyed the view so much. A deep set frown found her face when she thought of the old patriarch of her clan. Where was he right then? Was he doing anything useful with himself? She shook her head and focused on the garden. Thinking of him would ruin the serene moment for her. She was losing concentration. Despite the fact that Byakuggan was pretty much color blind, she still had the colors memorized and enjoyed placing the colors where she remembered them. It gave her something to do. A shape caught her eyes. It was a shape that was foreign. It moved. Oh. So someone was in the gardens. Curiosity peeked. Who? She noticed that it was two people. 'No. No spying Hinata.' she scolded herself. Just as she was about to bring her focus to something else she noticed familiar hair buns. Ten-ten? Her attention focused itself once again.

She recognized the form of her older cousin. Oh. Ten-ten was probably dropping Neji off from a kidnapping or something. She almost laughed at the thought. They were sitting comfortably discussing something, Neji looking impassive as ever. She decided to leave them be. Later she would have to go meet Sakura at the lab. There they could better discuss the comparison between chakra cells. She white-eyed girl felt her stomach grumble. Time to eat breakfast…or brunch.

……

Sakura woke up with a start. "Sasuke?! Sasuke!!" she called out. No answer. Oh Kami no. How could she have been so stupid!? She swung her legs out of bed. She had brought Sasuke back to her house to feed him before she took him back to his cell. Everything was going smoothly…until now. Apparently she had fallen asleep without realizing it. Now the Uchiha was nowhere to be found as she darted about the house. Suddenly there was a note staring her in the face. She picked it up and read it quickly. She let out a breath of relief.

_Sakura,_

_Eat your breakfast and go back to bed. Now._

-Sasuke

"Whatever Uchiha." she muttered. She crumpled up the note. "SAKURA-CHAN!" there were knocks at her door. The pink-haired medic grumbled going for the door. Said door was swung open before she could reach for the knob. "HERE'S YOUR BREAKFAST SAKURA-CHAN! THE TEME TOLD ME-"

-PUNCH!!-

"Baka shut up I just woke up!" she massaged her temples. "Oh…sorry. Well the teme told me to give you breakfast, and make sure you slept so…hi!" Naruto chuckled scratching the back of his head. "I'll eat but I'm going to work right after." she bluntly told him. "But Sakura-" The rosette gave him a dark look. "What?" she demanded. "Um…ehehe never mind." he backed off nervously. '_Screw the teme.' _he thought. _'Sakura-chan's wrath is not worth this.' _Just then a bird flew in with a note.

_Sakura_

_EAT THE FOOD AND GO TO BED! __**NOW!**_

-(YOUR SENSEI! -Tsunade)

Sakura shivered. "Damn you." she glared at Naruto. He beamed at her. "Have a good day-off Sakura-chan!" he ran out feeling accomplished. She huffed and sat down. "Naruto wait!" she called after him. "Hmm?" he turned around. She ran into the kitchen. She came running back out. "Give these to Juugo please." she implored handing him some sliced apples. "And don't eat them." she gave him a warning look. "No problem!" he gave the thumbs up. He took the plastic Tupperware from her hands and zoomed off with all the energy Uzumaki Naruto could hold. Which is a whole lot. Sakura watched him leave feeling even more exhausted just by looking at him.

"I suppose a nap wouldn't hurt…I have to meet Hinata at the lab later." she reminded herself. She wrote in on a post it and stuck it to her forehead before laying down, knocked out.

……..

"Position." a voice called.

"I'm outside the medics house. Do I attack?" a hidden shin obi whispered from the trees.

"Negative. Just make sure you get those samples before they get to the lab."

"And if I'm caught?"

"Do what you think necessary."

"Affirmative." he nodded observing his surroundings. This was a challenge he was looking forward to. "Well now. Where did she put those samples?" he murmured to himself slinking down the branches toward her window.

Author's Note: *le gasp* Oh no! Who are these strange intruders? What are they after? What about Sakura? D: Review and you shall find out lol.


	10. A Minor Setbackright?

Author's Note: I forgot to apologize for the late update last chappie…my mom couldn't pay the internet bill so I had to wait before I could update (the chapter was all typed out and everything! *pouts*). Anyway there was not much HinaxJuugo action cause I wanted a filler for what was going on with Sui the plot bunny's idea was just too pushy. Anyway by popular demand *sigh* I will *try* to take it easy on Karin. Thanks for da reviews!

Disclaimer: They aren't mine I'm just borrowing them for my evil purposes muahahaha!

**Chapter Nine: A Minor Setback…right?**

Naruto blew with ease through the hospital doors feeling high on life. This was a great day, he spoke with the teme (they'd be sparring later), he survived Sakura-chan's wrath, the morning was absolutely beautiful with blue skies, birds and the whole she-bang, and he had some coupons for Ichiraku, all he needed was to deliver these….very tasty looking apples to Juugo. He was hungry but he hadn't dared touch a single slice. Why did Sakura-chan have to be so scary? "Okay! Gang-way! Future Hokage coming though!" he bobbed and weaved around nurses and patients alike. As much as he liked Juugo he was in a bit of a rush. 'Ramen, ramen, ramen.' he thought to himself in the tune of the Cha cha song. 'Oh Kami…Sakura's right I AM a baka!' "Uurrrrgh" he rubbed his temples. Who knew Naruto could get on his own nerves.

…….

The nameless shinobi crept into the small occupied home. He found the pink-haired girl fast asleep with a post-it on her slightly spacious forehead. Ridiculous. This shouldn't be a problem. His chakra was well masked, and he was trained for stealth and absolute silence. He would start in here since it would have been a waste to look anywhere else and then come back here to look. He rolled his eyes. He had hoped this would be a challenge. That Uchiha brat was long gone. She did not look like much, but she was supposedly the Hokage's apprentice. 'First things first.' he thought. He brought out a senbon to paralyze her in case she woke up. Like a shadow he slunk over to her bedside. He briefly noted that she was pretty cute.

Just as he was about to strike the offending weapon into the side of her neck, he found himself leaping in the air to avoid flying debris as a crater opened beneath his feet. 'Holy shit!' he thought. The form on the bed disappeared into a *poof!*. A replacement, damn he'd underestimated her. Before he could react he was knocked out of mid-air by kick to his gut that made him see stars, and smashed him into a nearby wall. "Who the hell are you?" the green-eyed amazon snarled. His vision cleared and he shook his head to regain his bearings. He grinned at his opponent widely. 'Well…it looks like this may be some fun after all.' he thought to himself.

Haruno Sakura was pissed at being awakened from her much needed slumber. The minute she started enjoying it she had to get up and actually fight!? **'Shannaro!' **Inner Sakura bellowed. **'Let's show this bastard what happens when you interrupt the beauty sleep of a Konoha kunoichi!' **"Where are the chakra samples?" he grinned at her wickedly. "Rainbow junction jackass." she responded lunging for him. He spun away in a movement like lightning. "You may have gotten me before, but I wont underestimate you this time Haruno." he responded. "Tell me where they are." He dodged a few shruiken aimed at his nether-regions. "Ooh, vicious are we? Well so am I." he promised. "Who are you?" she demanded. He whipped out a senbon. "Who are any of us? Is life not about finding that out?" he mocked. "What is your name?" she hissed. "My name is of the wind that none knoweth whither it goest nor from whence it came." he danced about gracefully as a sprite as they fought. "You aren't getting those samples." she growled.

"We shall see." he chuckled. He broke into incredible speed. Sakura wished she had the Sharingan more that anything at that moment. 'Sasuke would own this guy's ass.' she thought to herself. She barely avoided a senbon. He really wanted to nail her with that thing didn't he? She narrowed her eyes. She had to get rid it. She had already leveled her hardwood floors by punching that crater in her room, new technique. They were in a taijutsu match as Sakura was avoiding the senbon. "I don't want to kill you! Just give-me-the-samples!" he swung the poisoned weapon at her. She had to scoff. 'What kind of idiot says they don't want to kill you while trying to stab at you with a poisoned senbon?' she thought. Blue chakra began to flow into her fists.

'What the devil is that!?' he thought avoiding her hits like the plague now. She was aiming for his arms. 'Damn small house! I need long distance!' he internally ranted. With a swift kick she knocked the senbon out of his hand. They both dove for it. The kunoichi used a trick Rock Lee had taught her and tripped him with a swift kick behind his knee. Simple but effective as he tumbled onto his knees and she propelled herself forward with her foot against his head. She grabbed it and snapped it in two, then crushed the pieces under her boot with her chakra strength. "Fine then, bitch." he coughed, wiping blood from his mouth. "That was going to make this easier on you, but now I see I have no other alternative than to be brutal." his voice was dark. "Bring it, biotch." she got into a fighting stance.

…………….

Hinata was at the hospital she thought it might be nice to pay Juugo a visit. In about an hour she'd go down to the lab and wait for Sakura there. The hospital air felt cold as it blew past her face. Well at least it was well air conditioned. Now that she knew where Juugo's cell was, she did not have to ask around. He deserved some company. People paid their respects to her as they passed her in the hall. "Konichiwa Hyugga-san." they would all say with a respectful bow. Hinata still found it odd. Fortunately none of her friends did that to her. She'd never allow it. She also had forbade Neji from doing anything like that either.

Standing in front of the cell she nodded to the guards and knocked politely before they opened it for her. "Be careful Hyugga-san." one of them warned. Instead of giving a polite reprimand she simply nodded. They were only being cautious. Juugo's spiky orange hair lifted with his head as slightly sleepy eyes met with her's. His eyes lit up. "Hello Hinata-chan." he smiled. "It's good to see you. Did you rest well?" he asked. Hinata could not help but smile. Juugo was very mild mannered. It was as though he'd originally been made to be a civilian. Being a farmer would have suited him. He was eating apples from a Tupperware. "Was Sakura here today?" she asked curiously. "No." he shook his head. "Naruto-san dropped these off for her, she needed some rest." he explained. Hinata understood. Sakura devoted much of her time to the hospital shifts, often neglecting her own health. After last night she could not afford to go to work as she usually did. She would exhaust herself.

Hinata looked at Juugo's attire. The same old T-shirt and pants…she frowned. "How long have you worn those?" she pointed. "Huh?" he looked at his clothes. "Oh." he smiled sheepishly. "It's all I have actually…you see I'm rather big and well…" he trailed off and shrugged. Hinata nodded in understanding, although her nose wrinkled in disapproval. She would have to take care of that. "What are you going to do today?" he asked eagerly. "Hopefully Sakura and I can make a thorough study of the samples, then we can compare and contrast knowledge, etc." Hinata answered off-handedly.

"So…did you come here just to visit me?" he asked. He had enjoyed Naruto's visit but a visit from Hinata was better than he could hope for. "Just for a visit." she nodded a confirmation. Juugo felt warm and fuzzy. It felt good to know that she accepted him. She was so different from the kunoichi that he had encountered. Even Sakura. He liked Sakura-san but she lacked a certain softness and tenderness that Hinata held in abundance. He felt instantly drawn to her gentle disposition. "I'm glad I have people like you to help me." he admitted. Hinata smiled graciously. "You're a very quiet person Hinata-chan. I like that about you, the quiet people are always the wisest with their words." he complimented. "I don't know about that." she shook her head with a smile. Neji was always the quiet one, but there were many things he still had to learn. Especially his mouth when he loses his temper. Juugo shrugged.

"What do you do here all day?" she asked to make conversation. "Mostly look out the window and talk to the nurses a little, then spend some time in the hospital grounds with the birds." he murmured. "I really like being outside the best." he added smiling like a child. Hinata briefly admired the chiseled jaw line, and straight elegant nose. His smile seemed to light up his oddly colored eyes with a certain optimistic charm, a set of perfect, straight teeth peeked from behind his finely sculpted lips. At her last thought she blushed heavily. _'NOT NOW!' _she wanted to slap herself. It was just a social call. Nothing to be nervous or embarrassed about. So he happened to be easy on the eyes. So what? She had gotten over crushes before! "Hinata-chan…your face…are you…embarrassed about something?" he asked. _'Does he have to be so intuitive on top of it all? Why couldn't he be (sorry to say it) a baka, like Naruto? Damn him.' _her last thought frightened her. _'The world has enough Narutos.' _she scolded herself.

It was not as though she hated Naruto…she liked him very much. In fact she loved him as a friend but…one had to admit, he was a bit slow on the uptake there. "Hinata-chan? Should I call the nurse-"

"No. I'm sorry Juugo-kun, I'm fine." she assured.

"Are you sure?" he asked touching her forehead. "Y-yes! Yes." she swiped his large hand away nervously. He drew back as if burned. "Sorry." he immediately apologized. "No, no, no it's okay. It's fine I'm just feeling off of my equilibrium today I g-guess." she did not like to make him feel like he repulsed her or anything. _'What is with the stutter? Keep it together Hinata!' _she internally beat herself up over her slip up. "Oh…okay." he smiled hesitantly. He hadn't meant to over-step any boundaries. He'd just been worried and forgot is all. Hinata-chan was unique. In her mannerisms, in her acceptance of him, even in her physical appearance. She'd had the loveliest eyes Juugo had ever seen. The mysterious lavender white that met his gaze was absolutely breath-taking within the shape of her eyes, and beautifully framed by a fan of delicate eye-lashes. He caught himself before he gawked. He was always taught that staring was impolite. "So…"

"Hinata-sama!"

Hinata jumped with a start at her cousin Neji's voice as he busted through the doors of Juugo's cell. He looked extremely alarmed. "N-neji..wh-…" she forced her nerves to a calm. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked, determined to help in any way she could. "It's Sakura." He breathed heavily. "She's been hospitalized." Hinata felt her insides drop like a ton of bricks. Juugo stood up. "Sakura-san? But why?" he looked between both of them. "What happened to her?" Hinata demanded gripping Neji's white shirt. "I haven't been informed, but Hokage-sama says that she needs you there immediately." he prompted. Hinata nodded. "Let me come." Juugo implored almost sternly.

"Juugo-kun…I don't think…"

"Please. She is one of my only friends in the world…and if this has to do with me I…." he shook his head. "I need to see her…please." he took Hinata's hands into his large ones pleadingly looking her in the eye. Neji watched the scene with mild disapproval. Hinata willed away a blush. With a sigh she finally nodded. "Fine, come on both of you." she motioned for Neji to lead the way. "Come on she's in the E.R." Neji informed urgently.

……

"I-I-I…I U-Uchiha-san…please..I-I'm sorry but I was told not-"

"Let me see her." the voice of the dark-haired shinobi was deep and almost threatening in nature. Almost too much for the poor receptionist to bear.

"*gulp* My-my superiors said…"

Sasuke leaned over the counter, Sharingan blazing. "Eep!" she moved back. "Teme, what the hell are you doing, intimidating poor receptionist girls!?" Uzumaki Naruto appeared out of nowhere moving in front of the young avenger. Sasuke huffed and folded his arms. "The poor thing is obviously new here! Look at her shaking!" he pointed. "Please, excuse my 'friend' here, he seems to have gotten an angry porcupine stuck up his ass…several years ago, and it's gotten angrier as the years have gone by." he explained. She tried not to giggle due to the scary presence looming behind the bouncy blonde. He was the kyubbi vessel was he not? This must be her week for meeting the celebrities of Rookie 9.

"It's not a problem…I guess." she started to breath easier. "Please." he leaned over the counter. "Our team-mate has been mortally injured and well…she means a lot to us…really so could you please tell us where they're keeping her?" he had such a hopeful gleam in his cerulean blue eyes. The girl bit her lip. "Please." he asked again sincerely. No wonder people could not help but fall in love with this supposed dangerous freak. Who could hate him? "Y-yes…" she relented. "Fine."

Suddenly there was a *poof*. "I have a need to finding one Haruno Sakura." a silver haired ANBU appeared in front of her. "You too?" she asked exasperated. "Me and my boys." he grinned widely putting his arms around Naruto and Sasuke who were both glaring daggers at their late sensei. "And stay out!" A blur of black and white was thrown into the group. They were knocked over like bowling pins. The poor girl looked at the pile of ninja on the ground and sweat-dropped. "Sai…what the hell?" Naruto twitched. "This guy was sneaking around the restricted wing and when I called him out he insulted me!" the security guard snarled. "I asked him about Ugly and he was unnecessarily hostile...noting this I was merely telling him that his excess anger could be due to a suppressed case of constipation." Sai informed dryly. Naruto snorted loudly. The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Please just tell us where she is." he stood up with Naruto. "Yes well…is it just you four?" she asked. "Well you might get a visit from a blond almost as loud as this one." Kakashi warned. "But other than that yes." There was a silence before she sighed resignedly.

"Room 385D. Okay? But don't tell anybody else!" she warned. "OH THANK YOU! CROSS MY HEART I WONT! HEY! WHAT'S YOUR NAME BY THE WAY!?' Naruto suddenly burst out. '_He really __**is**__ loud.' _she thought to herself. The Uchiha had already vanished. "K-kohana." she told them. "NICE MEETING YOU KOHANA! BYE!" and in an instant they vanished as well. "Freaks." she thought feeling an immense sense of relief…as if a weight was lifted. "Phew." she sighed.

……..

When Hinata found them Tsunade and Sasuke were sitting by Sakura's bedside. Naruto and the rest of Sakura's team filed in immediately afterward. "Is she okay?" she asked the Godaime softly. "She's only unconscious. She will wake up soon enough." she calmly informed. "What happened to her?" Sasuke asked bluntly. "Shikamaru found her in her house in a critical state…she would have died if he hadn't. Her entire house was ransacked." she told the group. They all exchanged glances. "What were they after?" Kakashi asked, puzzled. "I don't know…hopefully Sakura can enlighten us." Tsunade sighed. There was a pain groaned that caught everybody's attention.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto tried to hurry forward but was held back. "Sakura…can you hear me?" Tsunade asked her apprentice with a motherly tone. "Shisou?" sea foam eyes blinked and looked around. "Wait! Where is that bastard!" she tried to sit up only to be pushed down by her teacher. "Sakura…who did this to you?" Sasuke demanded, determinedly. The line was so eerily familiar that she shuddered briefly. "I don't know who he is." she shook her head. "Not even a clue?" Tsunade pressed. "He was a man but other than that… no." she shook her head. "Did he tell you what he was after?" Hinata inquired. Sakura coughed. "He wanted the samples…seemed desperate for it too." she told them. "Samples?" Tsunade raised a brow as Hinata was taken aback. "But why?" she shook her head. After all their hard work. "I tried to ask but I couldn't get anything sorry." she apologized. "Don't apologize." Sasuke grunted harshly. "Will somebody tell me what the hell you three are on about?!" the miffed Hokage demanded. Juugo wisely kept his mouth shut. He was upset. It had been about him after all. It must be his fault. "Sakura-san are you okay?" he asked softly. "I'm fine Juugo." she smiled warmly for the kindly berserker. In all actuality she looked like a mess.

"So those bastards took the samples." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. It felt like a violation to have his chakra stolen by some sick freak, after he worked all night to get it for the two kunoichi that he had come to work with. Sakura smiled. "So he thinks…but boy are they in for a surprise." The pinkette giggled. She whipped out two vials from her shirt. Hinata all but fainted from relief. She sat down and placed her head in her hands, long dark hair blocking her face from view. "What are those?" Tsunade demanded. "Is that chakra? Why?" questions spewed from her mouth. "I am sorry shisou but we can not reveal any of our research without endangering your reputation and position of authority." Sakura explained. "Tsunade-sama this is critical for Juugo's recovery I assure you and if we see that it is useless we will drop it, but if it is successful we will tell you everything." the Hyugga girl assured firmly. Tsunade was hesitant.

"Whatever this is had put my apprentice's life in danger…I feel a deep responsibility to know." she stated. "Tsunade-shisou, I will be fine. Please my life belongs to my village, just trust us." green eyes stared pleadingly at the older woman. Tsunade sighed resignedly. "The both of you are going to need bodyguards…"

"I will protect them." Sasuke and Neji both stepped forward abruptly.

They glared each other down. "Neji, Sasuke-san! Don't you dare!" Hinata pointed at them warningly. "We can't have only one anyway. We can divide duties. One will guard Sakura and the other Hinata." Tsunade concluded. "What is he doing out?" she pointed at Juugo. He bowed apologetically. "I wanted to see if Sakura-san was okay…I will go back quietly now." he promised. Tsunade softened a touch. "Very well. Hinata, Neji..please escort Su-..Juugo back to his cell." she commanded. "What about the samples?" Kakashi pressed professionally, now in ninja mode. "We will have to keep them under high security in the lab." Tsunade told him staring ahead in thought.

"Gang way! Move aside! Best friend coming through!!" a voice piped down the hall.

"Ino-pig."

"Forehead girl! Oh kami are you okay!?" a blur of purple and blonde zoomed into the room, dragging behind a frowning mist-nin. "Please keep your voice down Ino." Sakura pleaded. "People are trying to sleep in this wing." Suigetsu stood up from the floor. "Hey Sakura." he grinned widely. "You do not have permission to speak!" Ino smacked him upside the head. "Ow!" he rubbed the back of his head tenderly. He began to pick white lily petals from his hair. Ino threw herself onto the pink-haired medic, squeezing her. Sakura writhed and choked. "Get off!" Tsunade bellowed. The scene was so typically Rookie 9 dysfunctional that Hinata could not help but smile.

"Let's go Hinata-sama." Neji pulled his cousin along gently getting annoyed at this little gathering. Neji never liked it when there were too many people in one small room. Juugo followed wordlessly. Once in a while exchanging glances with the white-eyed kunoichi beside him. "I'll be out soon Hinata!" Sakura called wearily from her room. Hinata sighed. It was okay. Just a minor delay….but not quite a minor setback.


	11. The Good the Bad and the Infirmed

Author's Note: Hi everybody! I have decided to make shout-outs to my reviewers at the end of each chappie lol. So that if I like what I hear I can respond xD. Anyway I'm thinking of writing an AU…and I like my crack-ish pairings so….SakuDei it is! Anywayz I am coming up with tons of cute moments for Hina and Juugo, *squee* and one pairing is done in my head already. Yay! EEEEEWWW I RECENTLY DISCOVERED KARIN IS NASTIER THAN I THOUGHT!! SHE PLANNED ON DRUGGING MY SUI-KUN AND JUUGO-KUN SO THAT SHE COULD RAPE SASUKE'S WOUNDED UNCONSCIOUS BODY!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!! Ewewewewew…oooooh she's gonna get it now.

Disclaimer: I don't own it! I don't own it! Make it stop! L

**Chapter Ten: The good the bad and the infirmed**

"Juugo-kun…I've decided that while Sakura-chan is hospitalized I'm going to teach you some meditation methods that might help to keep you under control in the meantime." Hinata stated professionally. He nodded wordlessly. It was a beautiful day. Birds were twittering more than usual. Hinata briefly wondered if it was due to the gentle giant's presence in the garden today. They seemed to like him being around. "Sit in front of me." she patted the ground under a tree. He complied with a silent nod. "Here give me your hands." she held out her small hands for his. Juugo was hesitant. He did not mind holding Hinata's hands…they just seemed so fragile compared to his large ones. It was as if they would break if he wasn't completely 100% careful.

She gave a warm smile of encouragement when he paused. The beserker seemed to be nervous over something. 'Perhaps since Sasuke-san isn't here he's afraid of losing it again.' she thought to herself. "You're okay." she smiled with a nod. He smiled back ever so slightly. He opened his hands and slowly gripped her hands. They were softer than he had anticipated. Her hands did have the traditional calluses that all ninja had on their fingers and palms however…they were smoothed and buffed and provided no scratchy textures. He nearly jumped in surprise when she interlinked their fingers. Even her touch was thoughtful, gentle, and soft. Just like her. Briefly he noted the soft lilac scent that he would now remember to associate with her. He stared unwavering at their hands. Her's were a bit pale compared to his. He smiled a little before trying to concentrate.

His hands were large, and warm. They seemed to just overwhelm Hinata's with ease. His strong but gentle fingers cautiously gripped her hands trustingly, his touch making her heart pound in her ears. She cleared her throat softly before interlocking their fingers professionally. Or at least she had hoped it was professionally. Behaving like a timid little child was not exactly at the top of her list right now. His skin was slightly hardened from the life of a shinobi. He held a very silent and gentle strength, despite his instability. His skin was well-tanned compared to hers. His hands relaxed in her grasp and she looked up feeling an odd feeling in her gut as she noticed the way he was watching their hands. As if contemplating something puzzling. His handsome features softened into another of his melting smiles and he closed his eyes. Hinata bit her lip.

"Okay Juugo-kun. I want you to clear your mind of your surroundings." she told him calmly. Giving her voice an inviting, even tone. He liked her voice. Although sometimes she spoke very quietly…but he always heard and responded every time she told him something. He nodded to her. "Forget everything. All situations, everything. They don't exist now." she added. He pursed his lips a bit. He could do that. He concentrated on clearing his head. Soon enough he was left with an odd feeling, not caring about anything very much. Except the feel of Hinata's hands. A small smile took over his feelings. "Try thinking of something or somewhere that makes you happy." her voice called to him. He tried not to chuckle. He had his own methods for meditation…they did not always help but….this one was interesting. Perhaps it was because of her.

……….

"I hate that thing." a certain captive mist-nin grumbled staring at the offending piece of fabric in the blonde girl's hand. She just smirked maliciously. "I know, that's why I chose it." she chuckled. "I don't mind wearing a stupid 'apron' but why does it have to be pink?" he demanded. "Because I'm evil, and you suck." she flat-lined as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I suck? Oh you'd like that wouldn't you." he scoffed. Ino twitched. "You know what fine. You don't have to wear the pink apron." she stated calmly and smiled. If Hozuki Suigetsu had known anything about Yamanaka Ino, he would know that this was a very bad sign. "Really?" he raised a hopeful brow.

"Nope! You can wear this one." she dug in a box behind the counter. Suigetsu frowned slightly, leaning over to look over her shoulder. She stood up swiftly nearly hitting him in the nose with her shoulder if he had not been as fast as he was. "Here it is!" she cheered. Suigetsu looked at it and sweat dropped. It was a lilac apron with dark purple letter's in script that read out "_Princess!", _and lace ran along the seams. He backed away practically hissing like a vampire. "Oh…._hell _no." he pointed at it like it were the most loathsome thing in the world. "What? It's not pink." she giggled manically. "No! This is ANBU brutality! I have rights still!" he backed away and leapt onto the counter defensively. "Keep it up, and I'll have you deliver flowers to Sasuke in it." she warned. "Fine damn it! I'll wear the pink one!" he bellowed.

"And?" she placed her hand on her…generous hips. He let out a long sigh. "And I wont slack off." he promised. "And?" she pressed now tapping her foot. "And I'll stop complaining okay?" he grumbled snatching up the pink fabric from the floor. "Good boy, now get to work mister merman." she patted his head. He grimaced. She began to walk away. He sure was glad that she was smoking hot otherwise he'd have killed himself by now. "HOZUKI SUIGETSU ARE YOU STARING AT MY ASS AGAIN!" she screeched suddenly, making him jump. "No ma'am!" he called back. _'Sheesh.' _he thought to himself. '_Someone is in serious need of some cranberry juice.'_ He picked up the crates of white daffodils and began sorting them and moving them about the shop.

Ino huffed as she moved to take care of an old lady who was looking for orchids. The customers were reluctant to ask her 'subject' for any assistance. After all he was an S-ranked missing-nin on probation. He was a bit eccentric to be honest…and completely perverted. She couldn't even count how many times he had made some innuendo that made her flush in embarrassment so far. He did not stop either. She had already hit him a million times but he seemed immuned…and maybe even encouraged by it. The blonde pushed the thought aside for now.

She helped the woman…albeit a bit absently and sorted compulsively through the mail on top of the counter. Among the envelope was an invitation that kept drawing her back to the stack. Shikamaru had left earlier today to celebrate his engagement to Temari in Suna. She gritted her teeth and sighed miserably. It was an invitation to his wedding. She was sure that Chouji got one too. Yes, because he was his team-mate too just like her. _'Team-mates.' _she scoffed bitterly. _'Yeah. Only team-mates, that's all.' _she was not sure she even wanted to go…but she knew that if she didn't Shikamaru would be crushed, and him being the perceptive genius that he is would never fall for any half-baked excuses she might think up. He would ask her, she just knew it.

"Oh Shika." she shook her head in frustration. She could go just to make him happy, but she just knew that she would just be a damper on the whole celebration. She was never a good faker. It was kind of hard to put a smile on when she had to watch the man she loved cozy up to another girl...no matter how much you respect that girl. Then he would notice and ask what the problem was anyway. It would be like sticking her head in a bonfire. "Everything with you is so complicated." She pulled at her soft blonde locks slightly.

"Everything with who?" the mist-nin appeared out of nowhere.

"Eep!" Ino jumped with a start, placing a hand over her chest. How could she have missed him coming? Reckless! Stupid of her! Yeah she made a real awesome ANBU. "It's none of your business Flipper." she snapped coldly, gathering the envelopes into one neat pile and putting them away. "Meh, it probably isn't but that doesn't stop me from asking does it?" he grinned at her. Baby blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Didn't I tell you to get to work?" she inquired. "I'm done sorting out the crates Yamanaka-hime." he bowed low in mock-gallantry. "Are there any other… _needs_ you would like me to satisfy?" he winked suggestively. "Right now I have the need to.... BITCH SLAP YOU DOES THAT COUNT!?" she raised a fist, shaking it threateningly at him, eyes completely white and her face red. "Kinky. I might be open to it." he teased. She threw a kunai at his face. He backed off laughing.

"I like your attitude…Ino." he nodded with his never leaving smug expression. "Yeah well…urgh! Take care of the fertilizer in the back! Now!" she pointed to the back in frustration. He chuckled, saluting her and walking off. As much as he hated the smell of that nasty compost crap…he kind of liked it here. With this girl anyway. He smiled slightly to himself.

…………

"Okay Juugo-kun, laugh all you want but it isn't funny." Hinata stated as the two of them walked back to the hospital. People did not dare to openly stare anymore, but that did not stop them from whispering amongst themselves. Juugo beamed, looking straight ahead as if he didn't notice. In reality he did but he cared little especially with Hinata here with him. Hinata was annoyed but ignored them. "I am deeply sorry." he chuckled. "So you scaled the garden hedge, got stuck and just hung there as Neji-san tried to get you loose?" he inquired. "Yes." Hinata was blushing beet red at this point. "And then…you're father showed up and you _fainted? _Landing on top of Neji-san and knocking him off the fence to the ground." he grinned widely.

"I was truly frightened of my father back in those days Juugo-kun, and he caught me! I was over-whelmed that is all." she sighed. He nodded in understanding. "You never told me about your father.." he trailed. "I mean of course…it isn't really my business but…I'm curious. What is it like with you two?" he inquired. Hinata cast her eyes down. She wished she could tell him that things were just fine. Like a normal father-daughter relationship. "Honestly Juugo, at a young age…he decided that he officially had no use for me and placed me on a Genin team." she said bluntly. Juugo frowned. "So how did you make it to the position you're in now?" he asked. "That's a long story, but somehow I don't think it really changed his opinion of me. He always said I was useless, a disgrace." she recalled. Juugo gave her a puzzled look.

Hinata? A disgrace? What exactly was this "Hyugga Hiashi" looking for? "I don't know why I'm d-dumping all of this on y-…urgh…on you. You must be feeling really…a-awkward." she felt her stomach twist in humiliation. She hated stuttering. Especially when there was nothing to be afraid of. "Not at all." Juugo shrugged. "I did ask after all. You know, if it counts…_I_ can't really see you as a disgrace." he smiled at her. Eyes shutting enthusiastically. It was just so contagious that the Hyugga leader smiled back. "Thank you Juugo-kun." she patted his arm, blushing mildly and pulling away when she felt the hardness of said limb. Well after all he was a shinobi…being fit was sort of in the job description. Luckily he did not really notice her reaction.

The cool hospital air felt like a bitter-sweet relief. It was a bit hot out so it was good to get into the air conditioning… but Juugo did not really feel like going back to his cell. Spending the morning just him and Hinata was very nice. He had learned many things about her personality that just seemed to make them get along that much better.

People greeted Hinata as they walked down the halls toward the restricted wing of the hospital. She nodded politely back.

When they reached his cell they stopped. An awkward silence soon followed. "So did you have a nice day today Juugo-kun?" she asked softly. _'What the hell kind of question is that?' _she yelled at herself. You can't blame the poor girl…she was simply at a loss for words. "Um…yes very much. Thank you Hinata-chan." he nodded with a polite bow. "So I will see you later, um….yes well…goodbye." he moved into his cell feeling incredibly embarrassed at his lack of articulate speech. Hinata stared. _'I must have made him a little uncomfortable.' _she reasoned with herself.

She thought that perhaps she should visit Sakura. The pinkette medic would probably appreciate that very much. With a sigh she went to find her room. The walk was uneventful and the silence was starting to get to her when she finally reached the proper hall. She activated her Byakuggan to alleviate some boredom. As she neared Sakura's room she felt two agitated chakra signatures. Zeroing in on them, she allowed curiosity to get the best of her. Just then the door to Sakura's room swung open loudly, slamming against the wall, and a familiar pink-haired girl staggered out gripping the door stubbornly to hold herself up. Sasuke was behind her in an instant, glaring all the while and telling her something that she was obviously refusing to listen to. She was still wearing a hospital gown. Hinata could make out a faint _" I can do it!" _from her green-eyed friend. Why was she wobbling so much? Her arms trembled as she leaned against the wall. Teeth clenched. Sweat beaded on her pale face, contorted in stubborn concentration.

They hadn't noticed the Hyugga girl watching them from a distance so she backed away, hiding her presence behind a corner and still keeping an eye on this puzzling situation with the air of her handy bloodline limit . There was a long moment of silence as the Haruno medic made her valiant effort. Suddenly with a cry Sakura's legs gave way beneath her and she nearly slammed into the ground if the young Uchiha had not caught her around the waist with his arm in one smooth motion. He murmured something harshly as she began to crumble, leaning back against him. Her face contorted pitifully and both hands were soon covering it. He let out a pitiful sigh before he softened and with a tenderness that went against the ethics of any Uchiha the raven-haired shinobi gathered her into his arms bridle style, sobs now openly wracking her body. He was shaking his head and whispering something to her as he carried her back into her room. The door shut behind them soundlessly. Only the crack in the door where the knob had hit the wall counted as evidence of the short interlude that the Hyugga heiress had witnessed.

Hinata peaked around the corner with her normal eyes. What had that been all about? Something was going on with Sakura that she didn't know about…yet. She would find out what was hurting her friend. Sasuke must know, but a visit did not look wise right now. She deemed it best to leave the two team-mates alone for now. They had something to sort out together it seemed anyway. She had to find Neji. A good spar was in order to sort out her thoughts today. This week had been so chaotic. What a nightmare. Some unknown enemy was stalking them, research was being delayed, she hardly had time for her team-mates, and now Sakura was still in the hospital worrying her to death. Her team-mates. After a moment she re-thought her resolve. _'On second thought…I'll go spar with Kiba and Shino instead.' _she resolved readily. With that in mind she took off.

……………

That bitch! That sneaky conniving pink-haired little bitch! He nearly had his head chewed off because of her little decoy stunt! Now the damned samples were probably in the lab by now. His boss was royally pissed when he saw the warm green….absolutely useless chakra in the tubes. Ooh but she would regret crossing him. He had made sure of it…if all goes well that is. Now as for the Hyugga girl…what would be done about her? She was smart that was for sure. If she became a nuisance like the other girl he'd have to get rid of her. The Haruno medic wouldn't be so much of a problem anymore. However at the moment he was not in his boss's good graces. He was expected to infiltrate a high security facility in KONOHA!? 'Figure it out.' his boss had said when he protested over the task.

This was borderline suicide. An idea popped into his head suddenly. An idea that made him grin widely. If he hung back for a while and let them do their research…. half the work would be done for them already. He could steal the files and records along with the samples. The boss would certainly love that. In the meantime what would he do though? Hmmm. He had some thinking to do it seemed. No matter, at least the Haruno girl wouldn't give him guff…at least anytime soon. If all went well never again. If he was not mistaken…if all went well…Haruno Sakura probably would not ever walk again. A cruel chuckle escaped him.

………

Karin felt an unfamiliar presence as she sat alone in her cell once again. Normally a stranger's chakra signature would not get her attention in this place-her being new here after all- ….but…this one was different. Significantly too sinister to be a leaf-nin. It could not possibly be one of these people. Garnet eyes frowned in puzzlement but she paid little mind to it. She was by far too miserable to care about any potential threats to these…people. She grumbled for the thousandth time today. Sasuke was never there anymore. He was protecting that…that…_slut!! _It was not fair. She did not need protecting last time the Sound kunoichi checked. She had to be faking it on purpose.

When she got out of here…she would show them the definition of a bitch damn it. Still….that presence was irking her. What could have been that signature's business. Something told her that not even she would be okay with this threat. She climbed to look out of her cell window. There was nothing there…but her senses were still nagging at her. Sitting down she shivered, and blamed it on the cold.

Author's Note: There it is. What exactly was done to Sakura? Will Suigetsu survive Ino's reign of terror? What did Karin just feel? Read and Review for the next chappie

Shout Outs:

Hina92: Hinata is super adorable xD. I like to take things slowly because it gives me a flow and more room to make up cute moments. Thanks for the encouragment lol.

Bumble555: YAY! My fellow Karin hater! Yeah I always thought Ino and Suigetsu would be hilarious if they interacted. What with their personalities and all…anyway yeah keep on keeping on xD.

aango: I guess I kind of was lol. I was actually giggling the whole time as I came up with stuff. I never really thought I was very good at action scenes…and I don't know that much about the character's techniques but…as long as you enjoyed it than I'm happy!

pinkypinkpuk: Yo lol. (sorry about that I just do it cause it reminds of Kakashi) anyway! The idea for Hinata and Juugo was inspired by a conversation between me and a close friend of mine (I LOVE YOU MOMO!) *clears throat*…anyway if I ever decide to do weird pairings I make sure that the plot makes sense or I wouldn't read it myself. Keep reading! Ciao.

aquamarine-acaia: Short, sweet, and simple…thanks :D I hope you continue to do so lol.

Katreda: I love Juugo very much actually. He's cool…but totally crackers. *sighs* lol and you should get one, I recommend it!! Who doesn't want to cuddle with Juugo?

Lawloburst: Where are you!? T.T oh well.


	12. Amazing! What now?

**Author's Note: I am listening to Get it up by MSI…I can't help but think about poor Karin. Rofl!!! Chappie eleven is now at you disposal. I know FINALLY, I was just waiting to see how many reviews I could milk off of the last one…not much btw rofl. Oh well. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: *being carried away in a bloodstained straight jacket* BUT THIS SUCKS MAN! *twitching* WHY!? DAMMIT SASUKE WHY!? IF I OWNED IT NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!! AHHH!!! **

**Chapter Eleven: Amazing! So…what now?**

"No."

"Neji-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Neji S-sasuke-san just needs some assistance that's all, he's already proven to me that he's perfectly trustworthy…besides…he never asks for help, he only cares about Sakura." Hinata pressed, reasoning with her cousin. "I don't like him. You are not going alone." he stated matter-of-factly. "I am trying to give you your dignity Captain Hyugga, but if you insist on being stubborn, I can pull my rank on you." the heiress folded her arms evenly. The doting older cousin huffed angrily. Hinata sighed but did not loosen her resolve. She could not deny the last Uchiha her help. It was a great blow to his pride to be going to anybody for help. Sakura was giving him some trouble and he wanted her there so that they could discuss what must be done. The morning he showed up Hinata knew that she would be doing it…whatever it was the Uchiha boy needed. Just the way he looked at her..

_**FlashBack**_**:**

Hinata had been in her office and Hanabi had entered respectfully telling her that she had someone to see her. She said it was 'that Uchiha man'. Hinata had frowned. Sasuke? What could he need? Was there a problem? Was it about Sakura? Or…Juggo-kun? The thought filled her with dread. Instead of telling her to send him in she had rushed over in her robes and all. She hurried to the door and flung it open herself. "Sasuke-san." she said almost out of breath. He nodded slowly.

The last Uchiha still carried himself in his same prideful, noble posture. Anybody could see though that through his pride he was worn, emotionally strained, almost desperate…as if he were falling apart. "Come in." Hinata invited right away. Sasuke wordlessly entered looking around dully. "Hn." he said tiredly. "W-what brings you here Sasuke-san?" she asked, in a hurry to hear what the raven-haired shinobi had to say to her. What would bring him over here by himself? He did not answer. He simply walked into her office and held the door open for her soundlessly. Hinata took the hint. Sasuke wanted to be somewhere private to discuss this. 'Of course!' she scolded herself. Uchiha Sasuke was nothing if not a private person. Hinata nodded in understanding and hurried in as he let the door shut softly.

The two blood-limit wielders just stood in the middle of the office silently for a few minutes. Hinata nodded as if to let him know she was listening whenever he was ready. There was a silence as Sasuke paced for about three weary seconds. He stopped and ran a hand through his spiked hair. "Sakura." he said without looking at her. Hinata furrowed her brow with concern. "Has something happened to her?" her demeanor now much more alert. No answer. "Sasuke-san if-if th-there is anything I can d-do to help Sakura you must t-tell m-me." she was getting anxious and that meant more stuttering. Her petite little hands wringing. Sasuke shut his eyes tightly in some sort of frustration. "She wont listen to me." he gritted. Hinata frowned. "Wh-what do you m-mean?" she asked getting annoyed at her stuttering once again.

"I've tried to get her to stop. She's just hurting herself, but she's too damn stubborn and prideful." he growled. That was probably the most Hinata ever the Sharingan wielder say that had nothing to do with business or research. He should take about stubbornness and pride. Sakura had tried to reason him out of hurting himself before. Perhaps he knew what it felt like. No matter. This was her chance to discover what was happening with her hospitalized pink-haired friend. "Stop what?" she asked calmly. "Sakura…was poisoned by a senbon and it seems to be taking control over her nervous system and if she keeps straining it she might not ever walk again." he said with hunched shoulders. He looked like a diminished version of a once proud, tall, phoenix. "She's just so…hell bent on taking care of her patients anyway…she listens to you I know she does." he looked pointedly at the Hyugga leader.

Sakura couldn't walk? Hinata was dumbstruck. "You want me to talk to her." Hinata stated knowingly. "I want you to make her feel useful." he stated stoically. Pale lavender eyes stared into onyx ones briefly. "I understand but…how can I do that?" she asked him. "She…Just come." he said it with such a tired need that it gave Hinata a pang in her chest. She nodded. "When?"

_**End FlashBack**_

"Neji-kun…its for Sakura." she urged. "Then why can I not go?" he demanded. "Do not question my reasoning Captain Hyugga. Now stand down or I will put you on mandatory leave for the rest of the month." she stated sternly. The ANBU Captain narrowed his pearly eyes. With a huff he bowed and stalked out curtly. Hinata hated to make him feel so unimportant, but the duty bound Neji would not approve of the entire situation with Juugo and tell Tsunade-sama for sure. The Hokage did not need so much stress so close to retirement. She sighed and sank into her seat briefly in thought. She briefly wondered if Juugo had gotten his apples today. A fond smile came over her features. Juugo was a very odd character, entirely different from his berserker form.

She hoped never to see it again. Something however told her that, that was impossible. It was an eerie feeling. At any moment the sweet gentle giant could revert into a killing frenzy. As much as she'd come to like him that thought was always looming in the back of her mind. If they could get rid of his condition what then? What did they hope for him? Would he be free to become a citizen? Did he even want to be a citizen? There was a big chance that he would…but one never knew. The idea of him thanking them and just leaving made Hinata feel a bit sad. It would be odd not to see him again. Not exactly what she could call lonely…but missing something anyway. She brushed off the thought.

She had to go now. What she would do for Sakura she would just have to properly assess the situation before deciding. She wanted to get there before Sakura started worrying about her shift. Getting up she straightened her posture. If she was going to rule the Hyugga clan she needed to carry herself like it. Graceful, calm, and in control. She walked outside into the court yard and out into the streets of Konoha. Naruto just on dumb luck alone happened to be running past toward the hospital. He was carrying a few large bouquets of flowers. Hinata had a good idea who those were for. With a fond smile she followed after him, he seemed very focused on getting to his destination. There was no need to alert him of her presence. She was visiting Sakura too very true but Naruto could be quiet loud and energetic in the morning and quite honestly the thought tired the Hyugga girl out a bit. She could greet him properly when she got there.

Sparring with Kiba and Shino had been a good break for her. She had missed them more than she thought. The three of them headed out to eat out together afterwards and then she met up with Neji and the two of them walked home together. Now she continued to walk, nodding at the civilians and shinobi who greeted her routinely as she went along. Vaguely she wondered what Juugo was up to as she neared the hospital. She determined to visit him later.

******

Sakura was sitting propped up against her pillows with a miserable frown etched onto her face. Almost pout-like in it's nature as her Uchiha team-mate sat in a chair just across from the foot of her bed. Both of them stared at each other. Onyx clashing with vivid emerald. "Why do we have to be angry at each other?" she asked him softly. "I'm not angry at you Sakura, stop being so annoying." he snapped. "Oh well you sound very happy go lucky, especially using that old hurtful line on me!" she snapped right back. "Ugh! Damn it…I'm sorry, okay?, Sorry Sasuke. I should not have lost my temper so easily even if you are a prick." she folded her arms. He was making her lose her temper. "You look terrible. Wont you just go get something to eat?" she sighed pointing at the door. "Not if you try to run again." he shook his head. "It was one time Sasuke, and it didn't exactly work out." she growled.

"That's right. You fell to the floor." he glared. It had made him so angry. Not even he could believe he was capable of such a rage. "I'm sorry!" she protested. "I wont do it again… just go eat. Otherwise I wont eat mine." she folded her arms stubbornly. After a moment of silence he stood up. Walking across the room he pulled out a folded wheelchair. Sakura shook her head vigorously. "No Sasuke. I wont use that thing." she stared at him even more stubbornly. "How do you expect to get around Sakura? You want me to carry you around like some koala bear?" he made no effort to hide his frustration this time. He moved to scoop her up. She couldn't bear to use a wheelchair like some invalid. She had not accepted that fact that she couldn't walk anymore yet. "Sasuke please…d-don't. Sasuke-kun." she gripped the railing. He stopped. Sasuke-what? That was not fair of her. Not fair at all. He released her. She sniffled. "I don't want to.." she shook her head. Curse her. Curse her! For using that suffix that he thought he'd never hear again! For using those tears on him that he loathed with such a passion!

…..and curse _him _to, for relenting. He could very well just knock her out with the Sharingan but he could not find it in his heart to do that to her. To force her will like that would only hurt her more. He understood her problem very well, but did not know how to make it better and he hated it. Uchiha Sasuke hated being helpless. With a growl he scooped her up bridal style making her yelp. He held her to his chest and sat in her hospital bed Indian style. His head rested in her shoulder tensely. "Stop it. Stop crying." he half-growled half-pleaded with her. Jade eyes widened considerably as Sakura stared at her male team-mate. "Sasuke…" she tried to look at him but he wouldn't budge. She sighed.

******

When Hinata entered the room she was surprised. Never mind by the fact that Naruto had not arrived yet…but by the sight her eyes met upon entering. "Hinata-chan." Sakure greeted warmly. As if undaunted by the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was sitting with her in his arms cradling her like a child would an injured kitten. He did not say anything simply looked up at the Hyugga girl passively. Hinata only stared for a moment before nodding to them politely. "A-am I interrupting anything?" she asked thoughtfully. "No." Sasuke said frankly. "He knows best." Sakura shrugged, looking about as weary as her bodyguard. "I've come to talk about our research." the Hyugga girl was already figuring out a way to keep Sakura from using any healing chakra. This perked Sakura right up just as she thought it would.

"What's up?" she asked with a conspiratory gleam in her eye. Hinata fought the urge to raise a curious brow. "I was hoping that we could go down to the lab-" she paused when Sasuke stiffened his posture. "If of course you will use the wheelchair." she added with an air of understanding and finality. Sakura bit her lip looking between the two ninja in the room with her. She hated this. Feeling put on the spot like this. It was not as though being like this was easy for her. "Sakura…you have the nerve to call me stubborn and prideful…all I have to say to that is that you're being a hypocrite." Sasuke grunted. Green orbs shot to meet his. There was a sharp, defensive glare in them but it immediately diminished upon knowing that he was absolutely right. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed and nodded. Sasuke's tense shoulders slackened in silent relief but it was only visible to the keen knowing eyes of one Hyugga Hinata.

"Let's go then." she smiled. Sakura gave her one in return, and Sasuke just responded with his signature "Hn." The pinkette could not help the small smirk. "He's excited." she explained with an assuring tone as she was lifted bridal style. Sasuke just grunted and rolled his eyes. Sakura balanced her arms on his broad shoulders as he lowered her effortlessly into the chair. Hinata felt a pang at the moment between the boy and girl she had known from a distance now grown up. She had come to be close to Sakura over the years but long ago she did not know her as well as she'd have liked. She wanted moments like that with someone. She then was certain that the theory building up in her mind was official. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were in love.

******

"HEY KOHANA!!"

"AAAHHH!!!!"

A certain jittery receptionist girl was really starting to contemplate on getting herself a new job. She scrambled to pick up the scattered files she had been dealing with. "Oops! Clumsy huh? Let me help." the familiar kyubbi vessel crouched down to gather up papers with the civilian girl. 'Clumsy!? Why I oughtta…He has some nerve.' she thought bitterly. "I just wanted to thank you for letting us in to see Sakura-chan the other day. It was really great of you!" he smiled brightly and once again she could not resist his charm. Damn it. "Anyways yeah so…here!!" he gave her a bouquet of flowers. She 'eeped!' briefly in surprise. "Oh! Um…th-thank you." she felt her cheeks heat up. "ANYTIME! THANKS AGAIN!" and with that he was off.

Kohana winced once again at his volume. "Ugh." she groaned. "Vacation." He really was a very draining guy wasn't he? Still…he had his own charm. She found herself shaking her head. 'He must be one of those guys that grow on you.' she mentally noted, finding herself smiling slightly. Placing the flowers gently under the counter she continued to do her work.

******

"Naruto! Okay! Kami you can come! As long as you keep your mouth shut!" Sakura snapped. "AWESOME!" he cheered. "And no shouting at the top of your lungs." Hinata implored. "You got it!" he grinned widely. Sasuke seemed as annoyed as he usually was with his blonde team-mate. "Dobe." he dead-panned. "HEY-!"

"None of that!!!" Hinata and Sakura both shouted at the same time. Thwarting a quarrel between the two supposedly, fully grown shinobi. They exchanged glances. Sakura with her strength could easily move as fast as she wanted on her wheelchair. However maneuvering could prove as a problem in certain areas. Still, it was better than nothing. People curiously watched the group, surprised to see their top medic in a wheelchair. Naruto had given her a bouquet from him and another from Ino. Hinata was carrying one of her own from the blonde knucklehead as well.

As they entered the lab Sakura quickly wheeled her way over to the tables, looking through charts. Always ready to busy herself. Hinata joined her with silent enthusiasm. "So what are you guys gonna do?" Naruto looked over their shoulders curiously. "We have tests to run actually." Hinata replied. "Hopefully we can do this everyday." Sakura said dutifully. "Until we find something interesting." she added. They took out the vials and took a look. "Hey Hinata, check it out." Sakura held up Sasuke's. "The chakra cells are back to normal." the Hyugga girl observed. "Yup, they arent going whacko anymore." Sakura nodded. "What about Juugo's?" Hinata demanded. The pink-haired medic snatched it out. "The cells are not doing anything but they are still producing that odd sinister looking stuff." she murmured curiously. "We should test them." Hinata noted. "What do you think triggers it?" Sakura inquired. "Try adrenaline." Naruto proposed.

The two kunoichis looked at the blonde kyubbi vessel with slight surprise. "That is a very good idea Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled at him. Sakura gave him a simple proud look before wheeling over to some needles kept in a freezer-like container. "You keep pure adrenaline here?" Sasuke inquired tonelessly. "In days past shinobi who were sent on suicide missions injected extra adrenaline into their systems, it made them more 'capable' harder to take down you might say, in such a way that even if they were mortally wounded or near death they would still keep running because of the adrenaline pumping through their systems. Now it is purely used for tests such as these." she explained. "Lets see it then." Naruto pressed curiously. "Wait." Sakura scolded. "Sakura-chan is right." Hinata nodded. "We need to examine Juugo's chakra cells further first before we can alter anything." she added.

"We need a different container." Sakura said absently. She quickly snatched up another vial. "Okay. Here we go." she hummed as she let some of the mutant chakra cells into the new vial. Picking up the needle her and Hinata exchanged glances as Naruto leaned over anxiously. Peering closely the kunoichi allowed a single drop. It flickered significantly but nothing happened. "Try more." Sasuke said suddenly. Sakura frowned at him but Hinata nodded. Pursing her lips she tried some more. This time it was more than a drop.

Suddenly the cells began to work into a frenzy multiplying soon they were forcefully overflowing, it gave off such a stifling a presence as if a whole new presence entered the room. A whole new and very _sinister_ presence. Sakura yelped and dropped it as the eerie substance crawled up her arm. Hinata jumping back and Sasuke dragging the pinkette back sharply. Naruto covered the top of the vial quickly. They all exchanged slightly alarmed glances before Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura let out a few nervous laughs of relief. "Wow." Naruto managed. "Amazing." Hinata added in. "Yeah so…" Sakura trailed looking at her companions. It was confirmed they were all thinking the same thing when they all spoke simultaneously the same phrase albeit in different tones…

"What now?"

* * *

Author's Note: Once again sorry for the taking so long to update. Hope you enjoyed it. Please Review!! It makes me happy! I like to hear it when people enjoy or have something to say about my writing. So feedback! Motivation man! TTFN (I love Tigger)

Shout Outs:

Lawloburst: It's no biggie lol. I just enjoy being dramatic. Anyways thank you for reviewing!

Number1Weirdo: Thanks for the tip! I was actually already thinking along those lines…don't tell anyone though ;)


	13. Interference

Author's Note: If anybody loves Tobi and Deidara and feel like a good cry go look up 'Are we friends yet?' and 'I miss you senpai' on YouTube in that order. What a tear-jerker. To me at least. Anyways Chapter Twelve. Phew! This is getting pretty grueling. Anyways if anybody has ideas on fluff between Hinata and Juugo feel free to hit me up. Thanks and Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Lawyer? What lawyer? Nope haven't seen him sorry. *muffled whimpers as a foot pokes from under the sofa* AHEM! *kicks back under* Well anyway I never staked a claim on anything… now why are you still here!? Go on! Shoo!

**Chapter Twelve: Interference **

"_He who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person doing it" -Chinese Proverb._

The old tailor stared up at the towering figure before averting his eyes nervously. His fingers managed to remain nimble through his trembling that would have gone unnoticed to anybody except the two shinobi in the room with him and his assistants who were equally on edge. It was not everyday that he was commissioned by the Hyugga Clan Ruler, and to make new clothes for an S-ranked criminal too. Gray old eyes stole a glance up at him now and then, unable to resist looking at the large boy. Striking red hair, and almost crimson eyes met his gaze every time and caused him to look away just as quickly each time. Hyugga Hinata was characteristically silent as usual. This time when he looked up…the boy was looking back. He caught the old man's gaze and gave a (to anybody else) disarming smile which only unnerved him further.

Hinata placed her hand over the lower half of her face slightly to hide the giggle biting at her lips. Juugo gave Hinata a perturbed look as if asking if he had done anything wrong just then. She just smiled with assurance shaking her head. If anything he just looked puzzled now as he looked down at the man taking his measurements. Finally he spoke pausing when the assistants flinched at the sound of his voice so abruptly. He stared at them as if self-conscious. "Um…Thank you for this Hinata-chan." he said awkwardly, blocking the weird people surrounding him out. "I'm kind of big and…" he gave an awkward start when the female assistance touched him a bit too close to one of his ticklish spots. She practically ran across the room in as a result. He stared oddly at her before clearing his throat.

"…And it's expensive for me to get new clothes. These ones are getting all worn out." he added. "It's not a problem, Juugo-kun. I couldn't have you walk around Konoha like that." Hinata shook her head. "I'm just sorry it t-took so long." she apologized. "Oh no. It's okay. I hadn't expected this anyway." he assured. "As a prisoner, I've been treated far better than I deserve anyway." he added. He blinked at the other assistant who winced as he merely reached for a glass of water that happened to be next to him. Hinata shook her head in amusement. You'd think they were measuring a dormant bomb or something. You couldn't truly blame them though.

"Ahem. Hyugga-sama…our measurements are recorded, what fabric would you prefer?" the old tailor asked. "Just the sturdiest you have, make sure it offers free movement though and isn't too coarse, that will be just fine." she ordered politely. He bowed. "Hai Hyugga-sama." and he motioned for his assistants to follow him. Relieved to be finally leaving. They scurried after him whole-heartedly. "Normally I would have it done in two days Hyugga-sama, but with a client this size it may take double. I hope that isn't a problem." he said politely. "She shook her head. It's fine…I can pay for your extra effort if that is your concern."

The old man looked mortified. "Oh no! I wouldn't dream of it. Not a good client like you Hinata-sama. No you get special treatment." he smiled. He liked her. Truly he did. That boy though…made him nervous. His gaze fell over his shoulder to him as he was now seated on a futon, Indian style, eating a plate of dango. The missing-nin gave him another unnervingly normal smile and a small wave to accompany it. "Ja ne." he said politely. He nodded to the berserker awkwardly, and warily before making his badly faked 'calm' exit. The door shut behind the three civilians and there was a pregnant silence left behind in the room. "I do not think he likes me very much." the red-head stated with a shake of his head. Hinata let out a soft breathy laugh. Juugo's face softened at the sound. "Civilians are very paranoid about shin obi matters you'll get used to it." she sat beside him. Completely unguarded for once.

It was strange. Nobody had ever been this comfortable around him before. "Are you enjoying the dango?" she asked. He caught himself staring at her eyes again so he averted his gaze swiftly to his plate. "Oh. Um…yes." he answered softly. No blushing for him though. No. Just the sinking feeling of embarrassment and a burning hope that she hadn't noticed. He failed to notice Hinata's faint blush as she looked at the wall with a nod. The door opened to reveal a very stoic and obviously un-happy Neji. He frowned in disapproval at the proximity of his little cousin to the kill-crazy freak that tried to crush her entire chest cavity with his foot once. Hinata only reacted startled by his presence for a moment before sinking back into her normal calm. Juugo just looked up at him from his seat curiously. Not in the mood to be too lenient even for Hinata's sake he squeezed between them gruffly.

Sakura was most likely still in the lab giving Sasuke a hard time, but at least she was using her wheel-chair now. Tsunade had made plans for chakra treatments, and physical therapy for the pink-haired kunoichi. Juugo looked fairly uncomfortable. Good. "Neji-kun…is there something you need?" Hinata asked. "Sakura is looking for you." the Hyugga lied smoothly. This was very juvenile of his but he didn't care at the moment. "Is there a problem with the research?" she asked. He shook his head. "You'd better go see her." he said. Hinata frowned suspiciously. "Then I guess I'll just bring Juugo-kun with me." she replied just as smoothly. Neji tensed up. Some ANBU captain he was, mis-strategizing like that. Juugo looked at them anxiously.

"Come Juugo-kun." the violet haired beauty stood curtly, motioning for the berserker to follow her. His red-eyes only, stared hesitantly for a moment before he stood up. He gave the male Hyugga an awkward nod as he hurriedly followed Hinata out. Neji sighed. She probably knew it was a lie but hey. At least she was not plotting his demise for it. Or was she? At this point it was difficult to tell. For many years, he believed that he had his little cousin all figured out…but she broke through his expectations the day she openly stood up to her father and demanded he hand over the Clan leadership to her early. For his sake and the sake of the lower branch members. They were all family according to her and should be treated as such. Granted there was still problems with discrimination within the family, both ways. However, she was working on that. Why was he just sitting here now? Tsunade was sending him out on a mission soon. He'd be going with Ten-ten, Lee and a few others. Going on a mission with his entire genin team was something quite nostalgic. All they needed was Gai and they'd be all set.

Earlier that day he had to escort Karin to the Hokage Tower so her case could be decided. Hell if he cared. Actually he was rooting for a public execution, when he returned from the mission preferably. Maybe they could all watch. He scoffed. He had become a bit sadistic hadn't he? Well…_some_ issues had to rub off on him at some point. _'Hinata..' _he growled mentally massaging his temples. She should not have been gallivanting around this su- Juugo by herself without the Uchiha to keep him on the ground. The damned Sharingan user was busy fawning over his new found infatuation with Sakura-san. What's worse, she was encouraging it. Since when did he even have so much freedom anyway? He hated being kept in the dark like this. If he wasn't going on this mission today he would follow the three conspiring shinobi and do a little snooping and investigation of his own. _'Later' _he thought.

********

"Shouldn't we be going to the hospital, Hinata-chan?" Juugo looked around anxiously. "No rush." the Hyugga responded. "Sakura-chan is not really expecting us so soon." She was not an idiot. An over-protective Neji really knew how to get on her nerves. If Sakura had actually sent for them he would not have waited until he was wedged between her and Juugo-kun to tell her so. Juugo was not about to question the girl. He didn't particularly want to go back to the hospital anyway. The village was very beautiful, it just seemed to match her perfectly. It was her element. The Konoha background was made for her. It made him feel a bit out of place. That could have been attributed to his size though. Everyone who looked at him could not help but stare up momentarily in awe before catching themselves.

They did make their way to the hospital but it was at a leisurely pace. Hinata was just curious to see how things were coming along with the samples. It was her research too after all. Juugo seemed to be enjoying the surroundings. It was very cute actually. He was seemingly oblivious to the stares now. Him being a fairly experienced shinobi though Hinata knew…he noticed. She had only taken him out to get his measurements, because it simply was just inappropriate for him to be wearing the exact same thing everyday. Just wrong and unhygienic of the hospital workers to allow it. She made good on her decision to get him other stuff to wear. She studied him briefly, picturing what colors would work best for him. "This place suits you." he spoke up.

"Hmm?" she said with a start. "This village…it suits you. You look so…well…you just fit." he explained. "Oh.." she blushed. He had been paying that much attention to her all this time? She looked at him. He could have been happy in a place like this. Konoha. He could have belonged here too. Granted he didn't quite blend in with the people due to his unnatural eye color and towering height but…other than that. He would have made a good farmer. If only he did not have this…problem of his. It had been why Orochimaru was able to manipulate him into joining him. Making him think that he could help him, only to use him in tests to make others like him. Who knew the traumas he had experienced at the hands of his sadistic medics, like the likes of Kabuto. Hinata shivered. Konoha was a place perfectly capable of making someone like him content. Without the damned, demonic beast that took over him.

She winced. It hurt to compare Juugo to anything demonic in nature, but there was in fact something within him that was not normal. She liked him though. She would help him. The world just would not do with one less gentle soul like him. He could live more normally here if she succeeded. The young Hyugga leader suddenly noted that she really, _really _hoped that he would live out the rest of his life here. The idea of talking about him normally and visiting him everyday gave her sort of fuzzy ache. "Something is bothering you?" he asked noticing her daze. "Oh! N-no Juugo-kun…I-I'm fine really." she smiled with hidden embarrassment.

******

"SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE-TEME! WHEEREE AAARRE YOOOU!?" Naruto bellowed in a sing-song tone. He already knew though as he ran down the hall to the hospital lab. It was the first time that he'd ever not been interesting in getting a new mission. With Sakura, Hinata, and Sasuke starting this project of theirs, he was happy to still be around to see their progress. Today he was going to pester Sakura-chan like crazy. Boredom did that to you. She would probably punch him across the village, yet he didn't really care all that much…because he was boored. He practically pranced down toward the labs, nobody bothering to stop him. It was Uzumaki Naruto after all…nothing they do would keep him out for long anyway so they might as well save time and energy.

"TEME I-"

He stopped short as he entered to stare at the two. It looked they had been arguing about something and Sasuke's large frame was looming over Sakura's on her chair. Hands pressed on each armrest, and her hands resting in her lap as she glared up at him. He turned his head the moment Naruto burst into the door. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO SAKURA-CHAN!?" he shouted protectively. "NOTHING NARUTO! KAMI SHUT UP!" Sakura covered her ears. "Sorry Sakura-chan." he said in a quieter tone this time. "What do you want, dobe?" Sasuke asked, standing back up slowly. "There's nothing to do. I thought I'd come see you guys…do you think we can train just the three of us and Kakashi?" he asked hopefully. "Later." Sakura said firmly.

Surprisingly the knuckle-head blonde just shrugged. "Okay then…so…what have you discovered Sakura…unless all you've been doing down here is getting 're-acquainted' with the teme." he winked at her. "Naruto!" she scolded. "Dobe shut up." Sasuke snapped at him. "I actually have managed to separate some of the fluid that Juugo's chakra cells have been creating. They have a very odd effect on regular cells but are mostly dormant. When you apply adrenaline however like if the subject becomes agitated to extent of producing it, it combines with the fluid and makes a reaction with the mutated chakra cells. They produce massive amounts of it and the fluid combines itself with the adrenaline which is still being leaked into the system little by little to make a substance almost identical to the adrenaline itself only about thousands of times more potent. Then the bodies tissue cells become mutated based on the use of the chakra that is now being produced excessively. Am I making any sense?" Sakura finally stopped to look at Naruto. "Uh-uh." he shook his head honestly.

She sighed. "Basically Juugo gets excessively aggressive because of the combination of sinister fluid from the mutated chakra cells, and the body's natural adrenaline to make the adrenaline rush from hell. You got me so far?" she asked. "Yeah." the blonde nodded. "Okay they also cause transformation to the tissue, etc because they can somehow temporarily mutate and disfigure other cells, this is chakra after all it does a lot of stuff just when it is normal never mind when it's twisted up into a sinister substance, it probably affects Juugo's brain, when he's in that mode. He is significantly sinister. I think that perhaps it somehow triggers only the parts that inspire aggression rather than fear, like the medulla oblongata." she babbled as she braid stormed. "So the question is why does this 'substance' as you call it affect only selective parts of the brain if that's the case, and how do we reverse and or harness it?" Sasuke said. "You guys are making my head hurt." Naruto gripped his head. Sakura shook her head.

"Never mind, Naruto. Hinata will understand that's all that matters." she patted his shoulder. The knucklehead huffed. "So…what did I walk in on just then?" he asked mischievously. "Naruto!" Sakura raised a fist. "I am trying to tell Sakura to set up an appointment with her shisou for physical therapy." Sasuke stated flatly. "However, she seems too intent on working until she's not able to sit up properly as well." he added. "I'm not a child Sasuke. I want everything ready so Hinata and I can finish this technical stuff and get down to business." she glared snapping off her gloves. "Well you're finished." he pushed her chair toward the door. She dug her feet against the tile floor. "Don't make me use my chakra, pretty boy." she growled. "Sakura-chan you're not supposed to use chakra!" Naruto protested. "I'm not supposed to use it _so much_." she corrected. "Open the door, dobe." Sasuke said simply. He was taking a risk, but he won the gamble in the long run.

Sakura wouldn't really seriously injure him when he was only trying to help her…and she didn't. She simply sighed and pouted. Just then Hinata ran into them in the hall. "HI HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered. They all winced. "Hello Naruto-kun." she nodded her greeting. Juugo nodded a greeting. "Are you feeling well Sakura-san?" he asked the medic-nin. " 'Chan' sound's a lot better doesn't it?" she smiled up at him. "I'm fine Juugo-kun." she added with a nod. He smiled at her fondly. "Sasuke-san. It's good to see that they haven't kept you locked up for long." he nodded to the stoic Uchiha. "Hn." Sasuke responded. "Hinata thank Kami you're here." Sakura pulled her down to her level. "Save me." she whispered. "O-oh! Um…Sakura-chan is going to tell me what she knows..o-okay?" she did not like being in the middle. "Make it quick." the impatient Uchiha prodigy grunted. "Hey Juugo!" Naruto bounded beside him. "How about we show you around Konoha today!? I'm bored. Teme you're coming with us while the girls talk!" he commanded his best friend sternly. Sasuke said nothing but was dragged off anyway. Juugo followed hesitantly, in no hurry to leave. He looked over his shoulder at Hinata who nodded for him to go ahead. He gave a shy nod and picked up his pace after the two other males.

She watched Juugo's tall limber frame as it vanished down the hall. It was okay for him to be alone as long as Sasuke-san was with them. "Come on Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled. "Let me show you what I know so far." The two girls re-entered the lab.

******

"The secrecy of this operation is making the council members nervous." the spokesperson of the group said sternly. "I have no reason to doubt the capabilities of my apprentice or Hyugga-san in being trustworthy to the needs and well-being of this village." Tsunade stated bluntly. "Never the less. We desire to have our own man on the inside." another person spoke boldly. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What do you hope to accomplish with this?" she demanded, protective of the girl she had come to know as her daughter. "We 'hope' to remove any room for secrecy from us and ensure the honesty of these kunoichi….we have our doubts, I'm sure you understand." the spokesperson stated again. Amber eyes flashed at the accusation of these children she had known since their academy days. She made no room to respond however. She herself had indeed been kept in the dark about certain details and there was no way she could help them without the full knowledge of the situation. The older woman sighed.

"Who are you planning to send in to monitor their progress?" Tsunade asked wearily. The girls would not like this little piece of information. They exchanged glances before the speaker looked back at the Lady Hokage. "We will send in a member of ANBU." he informed. "You may enter." he called calmly. Tsunade massaged her temples. This was all just too much at her age. The uniform clad man bowed stiffly to the Godaime. She frowned but got an idea. "Under one condition." she said calmly. They looked at her questioningly. She smirked at the ANBU standing in front of her.

******

He needed to keep tabs on the research his boss had told him. These council members made no sense to the nameless shinobi. Wasn't it only days ago that they were skeptical that this could even be done? Now they wanted to send in some stiff-backed ANBU guy to make sure they did it 'properly'? No wonder nobody liked the leaf-nin. Most of them were supposedly known for compassion…but the council conflicted everything. So their shinobi were pansies, and their leaders were self-hindering, mean, old fucks. Oh boy. Now back to business. In order to get work done he had began working on the vial of harmless green chakra that he had been given instead of the samples. Upon opening it he recognized it as the signature of the pink-haired medic that he had squared off against. At first he deemed it useless and threw a fit, but now he was formulating a plan using a forbidden jutsu given to him by his employer.

Her little prank was about to backfire on her. As for the Hyugga girl, he had been watching her movements. Today she was with the berserker freak. At the moment though she was probably alone with the pinkette, considering he noticed the subject out with the vessel kid. The Kyubbi vessel seemed to be actively involved now as well. His boss would love to have just gotten his hands on the whole project all together and though the subject would put up quite a fight it would be a worth while effort. He wasn't stupid though. No way was he going to face off with him, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke all together single-handedly unless he wanted a Rasengan shoved down his throat and a Chidori ball up his ass. Hopefully he could perform this jutsu he was working on properly. He would have to test it out somehow. Something subtle. Security was really tight here all of the sudden.

******

"You are going to be on probation."

This is what they had told Karin. It was odd. Anybody else would have executed her. She was likely to turn on them and offer info at any moment. She did hate this place after all. Were they this soft? Here she was being escorted back to her cell by ANBU. Suigetsu still came by when it was time to sleep. He would mostly ignore her. Fight with her. Or start going on about his day. Ino this. Ino that. It looked kind of obsessive to her. How could anybody put up with that?

"Hey Karin! They decide to kill you yet?" Suigetsu called as he used a pick to pluck trash from the street. The blond who's name was ingrained into her brain by now as Ino was not far. She looked at her very briefly before going about her business once again. Karin said nothing just flicked him off as she continued to walk. She could hear him laughing. Well at least somebody was content with their confinement. She could be too if only Sasuke were still with her. She glared at nothing in particular. She'd probably get some random baby sitter, and do tedious work as she slowly died inside. She froze suddenly.

There it was again. That same flare of chakra that she had felt a few days ago. There was some odd activity going on under people's noses here. She knew that much. Someone was keeping themselves concealed. "What's wrong with you? Keep moving." the man escorting her grunted in annoyance. Karin narrowed her garnet eyes at him and then rolled them continuing to walk. Well she wasn't going to say anything _now _that was for certain.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you guys like this one. I find it a bit boring. I'm PMSing BIG TIME so I'll keep this very short. Review! I can't remember if I had anything else to say so w/e lol. Ugh. Oh yeah! Sasuke has a lot of freedom after what happened with Sakura because even though he had the opportunity to escape countless times he went willingly back to his own cell. Anywayz Ciao as always.


	14. Rants, Rage, and Romance

Author's Note: Crazy in Love has once again been updated lol! Sorry for all of these delays but life keeps chucking them at me. Thanks to all of my reviewers and favoriters lol. WARNING there WILL be fluff in this chappie lol xD. I swore that I would finish this and I plan to. Here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm so proud of Hinata for confessing her love! XD. It was so touching and sweet! Amazing. Totally. If you haven't read that part in the manga…READ IT! I command thee!.

**Chapter Thirteen: Rants, Rage, and Romance**

Hinata was tense. No tense was not the word. Hyugga Hinata was pissed the fuck off! This was probably he biggest set back she'd had yet. She silently walked down the hospital halls stiffly, looking for Sakura to tell her the news. Her small but deadly fists clenched at her sides. She was trying her hardest to be calm. Medics were shying away from the kunoichi's dark aura as they passed her in the hall. Hinata just stared ahead as if they did not exist. It was not everyday that she looked so…well…so _foreboding _to put it in the nicest term possible. Not the sweet, kind, humanitarian of the Hyugga clan. If they did not know better they would have thought that Hyugga Neji had been transformed into a female version of himself with PMS, and then had gum placed into his hair. She entered the lab to find Sakura looking over files in her wheelchair, Sasuke seated casually on the nearest table top with Naruto gabbing away. Neji was with them surprisingly looking completely pissed off. She did not care though at the moment. Any other day she would have demanded what he was doing, but no she had worse things to worry about. Juugo sat across from them looking very nervous. They all looked up at her. Immediately they were concerned when they noted her disposition.

"Hinata-chan…is everything alright?" Juggo frowned, sincerely worried. She only gave a single nod and closed the door behind her. Naruto knew very well that, that look on any woman did not mean good things so he backed himself behind the counter defensively. He was usually the one who got hurt during these situations. Not this time. Hell no. This time he would keep his mouth shut and remain at a fair distance. Sakura wheeled toward her a bit. "Are you sure?" she asked caringly. Another nod. "How is the physical therapy going?" the Hyugga heiress was just trying to get into her normal docile mood but it was just impossible with what she had to say. "Um…well very well I guess, the chakra treatments are very effective, I can now flex my calves at least." the pinkette said off handedly, still really just worried about her violet haired friend.

"Hinata-chan? Maybe you should sit." she motioned to the various places to be used as a makeshift chair. Taking a deep breath Hinata sat down on a counter and mustered up a smile that only looked like something out of hell. Even Sasuke seemed to be preparing himself for an explosion. Enough time around Sakura did that to you. "I have something to say…" she began calmly, swallowing. Naruto felt like running away and he hadn't even done anything. Juggo was looking at everybody nervously. Hinata sighed a bit sadly and then looked up fake cheerily again. "Is there something we can do for you Hinata?" Sakura asked touching Hinata's hand, causing her two team-mates in the room to flinch. One can't blame them. They only had one Sakura-chan, and were intent on keeping her. Hinata did not snap at the rosette though she simply gave an eerily perky smile that reminded team seven of Sai. "Hinata-sama, what is it that we can do to help." Neji asked readily. "Why yes there i-is…" she began, standing back up. They watched her intently.

"If any of you are planning on doing something for me…then listen very carefully." she smiled. "I want elder Danzo here right now…no scratch that I want him dragged away from his peaceful little pedestal with all of the other bitter dried up prunes in the council and I want him brought into Ibiki's torture chamber…with a big ribbon on his head!" she began to pace angrily. Her Byakkugan activated itself. She reared on her companions sharply. "AND I WANT TO LOOK HIM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AS I DISEMBOWL HIM WITH A PAIR OF CHOPSTICKS AND TELL HIM WHAT A CHEAP, CONNIVING, GREEDY, NO GOOD, ROTTEN, LOW LIFE, SNAKE-LICKING, IGNORANT, DIRTY, DISGUSTING, CONDESCENDING, C-_COCK_ SUCKING, OVER STUFFED, BRAINLESS, DICKLESS, HORSE DICK SUCKING, (PROBABLY TUPAY WEARING), HEARTLESS, HOPELESS, RAT SHIT EATING, STIFF-LEGGED, SPOTTY LIPPED, WORM HEADED SACK OF MONKEY SHIT HE IS!!!! HALLELUJAH!!! Ehh!-URRRGH!!-" she held her temples where the veins were being strained. "THAT FUCKER'S WHORE OF A MOTHER SHOULD HAVE SWALLOWED HIM! _**SHIT!!**_ CAPTAIN HYUGGA GET ME SOME TYLENOL RIGHT _NOW!!!" _she bellowed so loudly and so uncharacteristically that even the Hyugga Neji was reduced to running off to fetch her the damn pain killers like his life depended on it.

Everyone stared at the panting and huffing (normally complacent and mellow) Hyugga heiress as she wiped sweat from her brow. She was trembling with rage. Only the top of Naruto's head and his cerulean eyes were visible over the nearby table, widened in their newly discovered fear of Hyugga Hinata. Even Sasuke was on the defensive, one arm out in front of the wide eyed Sakura who was wringing her hands a bit. She sat back down breathing heavily. Sakura then hurried to her side with serious concern. "Hinata-chan…what about Danzo?" she asked firmly. That name was not a good sign in any of their books. "Hinata-chan…" Juugo stared at the violet haired girl shocked but…there was a very familiar heat gathering in his gut and parts of his face. He had never seen Hinata-chan so angry. Yet…as worried and surprised as he had been…he…he felt…like he hadn't felt since those days when he was still a teenaged boy and he-

"May I be excused!?" he yelped.

The other shinobi jumped at his sudden proclamation. "Um…of course?" was all Sakura could say. The beserker ran through the hall to head for the bathroom. Water. For this humiliating blush. Naruto stared after him. "What's his problem?" he wondered aloud. Hinata sighed rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?" Sakura asked her persistently. "The council…" she began willing her nerves to calm down. "WHAT DID THOSE BASTARDS DO!?" Naruto demanded jumping up. Everyone in the room glared at him for startling them after such a tense moment. Hinata sighed and continued. "They decided that they did not trust Sakura-chan and I to properly fill them in on everything that's going on. They want to…t-to send in a 'man of their own'." she started to get angry again but kept it in check this time. They all exchanged alarmed glances. "That means…"

"Yes Naruto…" Sakura nodded. "They will find out that Juugo has no curse seal." Sasuke stated bluntly. "_If _we don't properly conceal the information." Sakura added. "How can we possibly keep such vital information at bay if this 'agent' of theirs is going to be involved in the tests we perform?" the Uchiha drawled skeptically. Hinata and Sakura exchanged glances. "We need some way to distract them from asking too many questions." Hinata frowned. "But that seems like an impossibility." she added in. "He wont talk if he doesn't want to be roasted on a spit." Naruto glared. "That wont work Naruto." Sakura scolded. "Probably not, but it would feel a hell of a lot good." he responded. Hinata laughed slightly. "I know what you mean Naruto-kun." she admitted with a nod. "See? Even Hinata-chan likes the thought!" he pointed at the naturally shy kunoichi smugly. Sakura folded her arms and sighed. "I'm going to have to talk with my shisou." she said resignedly. She wheeled herself forward. Sasuke made to go with her. "Sasuke-kun…can you watch Juugo, please?" she asked him. He folded his arms but sat down anyway. "I can watch him." Hinata offered readily. They looked at her. "…Okay." the pinkette answered hesitantly. They did not want to upset her again. "I WANT TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON TOO!" Naruto stood up. "IF THE BACHAAN NEEDS SOME HELP WITH THOSE PRICKS, I'LL GLADLY TAKE THEM OUT FOR HER!" he chased after his team-mates.

Hinata sat by herself waiting for Juugo to return. This problem was putting a lot of pressure on her, and to top it all off the council wanted a progress report tomorrow. How did Tsunade put up with them? The aggravation of politics was too much. She stood up and began to pace around.

******

"So…" the bored mist-nin began as he pushed along a few crates of geranium. His gorgeous supervisor walking along beside him taking inventory of what she saw around the shop. "So?" Ino raised a brow allowing her blue eyes to gaze up at him momentarily. "You have a boyfriend?" he asked curiously. She let out a startled sound. "I don't see how that is any of your business. Why?" she demanded. Was it so obvious that she was man-less? Oh Kami why? "No I'm just wondering, because I don't see any worried males coming to visit you while you baby sit an S-ranked criminal. Any guy would worry. But then it's pretty hard to imagine someone like you going without a boyfriend, I mean…you're so…" he searched to find a word that would not incline her into making the pen that she was twirling between her fingers a part of his neck. "So…easy on the eyes that I'm sure you've had to have some contender a time or two so….do you have a boyfriend?" he asked again. Ino turned pink.

"Well I…no." she admitted with a sulk. _'Please don't ask me out.' _she thought to herself, repeating the mantra nervously. "Really?" violet eyes lit with slight disbelief. All she did was fold her arms and huff in response. There was the sound of doors opening. "Ino." a male voice called. Baby blue eyes lit up. Suigetsu turned quickly to see who was coming in, feeling a bit of apprehension. "Are you in here? Tch. Come out woman stop being such a drag." the voice drawled. Shikamaru was back! Ino chewed her bottom lip before stepping out from the back room. Suigetsu followed her. "Shika-kun!" she could not help but throw her arms around the lazy-nin. She wanted to cry but that would have been stupid. "I'm glad to see you too, Ino. Stop being so troublesome, I can't breath." he told her. She backed off. "How was the trip back?" she asked him. "More troublesome than even you." he stated. "I am not troublesome!" she pouted. Suigetsu looked between them. He felt like a third wheel. It did not suit him well. "Whatever. Tsunade told me that you were in charge of an S-ranked criminal, and I see it's true." he looked at the silvery haired nin. "I just wanted to make sure you were fine with it so far." he said. Suigetsu gave him a toothy grin despite himself. "It's fine really." she answered dismissively. "Just peachy." he interrupted. "She's taking very good care of me." he added with a chuckle.

Ino punched his shoulder. "I told you not speak unless you had permission around other people!!" she snarled. "Ow! Kami, so-rry." he rolled his eyes. "I see you've done a good job with him so far." Shikamaru remarked. "Yeah well, I am ANBU now." she reminded. "All thanks to you." she added with a smile. "Yes well, don't make me regret it." he said. She knew that was his way of saying he was always worried about her. It touched her that he did. At the same time it broke her heart though because she knew that the brotherly affection he had for her was deep. Brotherly. Platonic. She pursed her lips a bit. Suigetsu knew that look. '_I see.' _he thought to himself silently. "You wont." she shook her head. "I was just coming to visit since I just got back, and yes to check up on you." he drawled, too lazy to hide it. Ino scoffed. "Did you get the invitation by the way?" he asked, in a lighter tone of voice that made the blonde's stomach knot up. She had hoped he would not bring that up. Great. "Oh…yes I did." she nodded. "Okay good." he said to her relief. She did not know what she would do if he brought up Temari again. She felt guilty. She liked Temari…but…ugh. "The mail is a bit chaotic these days you know." he added off-handedly. He totally missed the dulled expression on his female team-mate's face. But a certain pair of violet eyes did not.

Suigetsu watched the scene with a critical eye. What invitation? From he could see about Ino it was probably relevant to her obvious feelings for this guy. This dumb ass. She had called him 'Shika-kun.' Something twitched inside of him. He knew what it was triggering. Nausea. "I have to go see Chouji too, but we are going to eat later tonight and I wanted to ask you to come with us." the dark-haired leaf nin said. "Of course, Shika-kun." she nodded with a smile. She had not spent much time with her team for a while. Sometimes they met up but not as much as she would have liked. "Okay good so see you then if not sooner." he shrugged. She hugged him once more. He returned the hug seeing that she wasn't crushing him this time.

Ino could not help but take in the smell of forest and the cool outside air mingled with the familiar masculine smell only to be associated with Shikamaru. She let go, embarrassed of herself. Inside kicking herself. "See you." she waved dismissively, just wanting him gone. It was just too much for her at the moment. Especially with the king of the porpoises staring at her. She had the feeling he was onto her already. Was she really so obvious? If so, was Shikamaru really that stupid? What do you know, a stupid genius. Not surprising. He left. Although he was a bit weirded out by her sudden need to rush him off. He just frowned and walked out. Ino let out a breath of relief. "So…is this the reason you don't have a boyfriend?" Suigetsu leaned on the counter next to her. "My personal life had nothing to do with you, Flipper." she glared at him. "I see." he nodded. "So where did he get back from?" he asked curiously, wanting to pry so that he could deduct answers on his own. Ino inhaled deeply. "His engagement party in Suna." she stated. A light went on. Engagement meant wedding and if she was not at the engagement party that meant the invitation must have been for the wedding. It all made sense now. Was he a ninja? Or was he a ninja? He grinned to himself. It was short-lived triumph however. "Ah…I get it now." he stated.

"What is it with girls and chasing after the guys who are just not into them?" he asked. Ino threw a crate at him. "Sorry! Kami it's just a question." he dodged and backed away. "I don't chase after Shikamaru! I just love him that's all!" she shouted shaking her fist at the mist-nin. "Okay! Okay I'm sorry for wording my question wrong, miscommunication, my bad alright?" he held up his hands defensively. Ino fumed, folding her arms. "I am going to re-approach you now." he said warily, hands still up in a placating manner. Stepping forward slowly he finally leaned back to his original spot. The platinum was visibly calmer. They stood next to each other wordlessly for a while. Ino eventually leaned back against the counter as well, arms still folded. "Things are pretty slow today huh?" he asked. "Yes…it's like that sometimes." she nodded. He nodded. Neither had very much to say. They were both thinking about the same thing. One extremely curious and the other wanting to talk about anything else. Ino let out a soft breath.

"So…who was your first crush?" he asked. Ino gave him a look. He quickly relented. "Okay if I tell you a little about myself, will you tell me a little about yourself?" he asked, trying to compromise. Baby blue orbs eyed her charge critically. After a moment she huffed. "Fine. Who was _your's_?" she motioned for him to speak. "A girl back in mist, civilian, cute, very sweet….all in all not for me." he shook his head. No he needed quite a girl if she was going to survive him. "Her name was Aimi but I never learned her last name. Anyway your turn." he turned to face her resting his elbow on the counter. "My first crush….ugh…was…" she trailed. Oh boy. "Was?" he pressed. "Uchiha Sasuke." she admitted in a sigh. There was a silence. "…Oh! Oh why didn't I think of that? Who could have possibly predicted it." he rolled his eyes. "Shut up!!" Ino protested. "I was like ten okay!?" she snatched up the clip board, dying to end this discussion. "What's so irresistible about that guy? I don't get it!" Suigetsu wondered aloud. "I got over it okay!? Stop badgering me because frankly I don't even know what I saw in him anymore!" she was scribbling stuff down angrily. He snickered.

"Something tells me you're a virgin." he grinned lecherously.

"THAT'S IT!! DIIIEEEEE!!!!"

With that Yamanaka Ino found herself chasing a wiry mist-nin around the flower shop with a shovel, trying to impale the blade into his spine.

******

Hinata was feeling a bit better now that she had gotten her Tylenol and downed it with water. She was going for a walk with Juugo before she took him back. He deserved some time out to socialize. He was getting cleaned up and changing into his new clothes that he had finally gotten. She waited for him outside the bathroom door. Neji was gone. He could not stick around because of his mission. A part of Hinata was grateful. He was being very troublesome lately as Shikamaru would put it. Another part though felt more secure when he was around. During her earlier years among her clan, she had formed a bond with Neji that made her used to thinking of him as a protector. Someone to run to when things were too much for her. It was nice not to have him around to breath down her neck about Juugo. Juugo was like a breath of fresh air. Talking to him was a very relieving part of her day. She really did not feel very guarded around him. Despite his problem that she made sure to be very aware of.

"Does this look fine, Hinata-chan?" the door opened.

Hinata stared up at him speechlessly. His fiery red hair was dripping a little bit and fell back a bit. It looked cute. His face was a little bit flushed from the hot water. He had that freshly cleaned glow to him, making him seem almost ethereal. His attire now consisted of a navy blue yukata with white rimming the bottom of his sleeves and a black obi. It showed off the upper half of his toned chest but not nearly as much as Sasuke's, and his long pants were also black with matching sandals. It fit his form nicely. He wore that same winning smile she liked so much. Probably happy with his new clothes. Hinata could not help but smile back. "I-it…it looks…" Amazing. "It looks g-great Juugo-kun." she nodded. "Thank you." he nodded, with a bit of a shyer smile on his face now. His brow furrowed. "Are you okay Hinata-chan?" he asked, touching her forehead. "You look a bit flushed. Your face is red." His face was lowered to her level so that she could see his lips in detail as he spoke. She gulped. She was blushing again damn it! "Hot?" he asked with concern. '_You have no idea.' _she thought. "I-I'm fine." she stepped back.

"Okay…so are we going now?" he asked. "Yes! I-I mean yes we are. Uh…let's go." she motioned for him to follow. '_Stupid, stupid, stupid!' _she shouted internally at herself. All the stutters! Mortifying. Hanabi saw them exiting down the hall and wondered to herself. She frowned, but trusting Hinata's judgement neither said or did anything. This was a strange development.

*******

"Did you enjoy going out with Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun yesterday?" she asked him. This triggered something in Juugo's memory. "Oh…yes I did actually." he smiled. "That actually reminds me of this place I wanted to show you." he declared. "Really?" she raised a brow. "Yes…nobody really goes there besides Team Kakashi though so please keep it secret." the beserker implored. Hinata nodded. "So do you want to go now?" he asked with all the hopefulness of a puppy. She could not refuse. "Okay." she smiled softly at him. "Great." his face lit up. To her surprise he hoisted her onto his shoulders. "EEK! J-Juugo-kun!" she held onto his neck for dear life. Damn it was high up here. She was beet red now. "Yes Hinata-chan?" he asked, his oddly colored eyes gleaming up at her innocently. "I can walk.." she told him. "Oh. Well I figured that we did not have a lot of time and this will be faster, I wont drop you I promise." he beamed up at her assuringly. She blushed again. Unable to answer she just nodded. When he began his jumps from roof-top to roof-top she squeaked a bit and held on. She jumped like this all the time, it was just that when she was not the one in control she felt a bit shaky. Well it was okay…Juugo did promise not to drop her after all. She would trust him.

*******

So she was alone. With the beserker. Not very smart of her. "Well…" he stroked his chin. "What is this all about then?" his cold grayish eyes assessed the situation. He shrugged. It looked as though he had something else to look into. At the moment though he had to prepare things for that night. If he wanted info. He needed to get it, and not waste his time investigating on petty details of the scenario. He would find out if this idea did not work. If his suspicions were correct though, it could work to his advantage. Tonight he would get a good idea as to how well this forbidden jutsu would work. Then if it was sufficient he could then find out what he could about security in this place. Alarms, guards, etc. Whatever he did he would have to hurry. Maybe he should get some of the others to be eyes and ears around here. Oh well, back to business for now.

* * *

Author's Note: Finito lol. It looks like things are getting kind of 'hot' between little Hina and Juugo-kun xD. Anyways, what is this strange enemy nin planning on doing exactly? How are Hinata and Sakura planning on handling this situation with the council? Will Suigetsu survive Ino's wrath? Review and find out.


	15. Let the Games Begin

Author's Note: Ok new update for Crazy in Love. I was having trouble for a while. UURGH!!! I haven't decided between these two little issues, and I can't rule either of them out because I already started both of them! Dx. This is gonna be tougher than I thought. T.T Oh well. Well hopefully I can figure it out. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this one. That's what it's here for after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm too tired to say anything more than that. The wells of hyper-ness and imagination are dry at the moment.

**Chapter Fourteen: Let the Games begin**

When Juugo finally stopped running, he looked around and smiled. This was it. He'd remembered correctly. He could feel that Hinata's vice-like grip was not loosening and he frowned. "Hinata-chan?" he looked up at her. She was frozen. Pearly white lavendar eyes wide and her face was redder than Karin's hair. Juugo was extremely concerned at this point. Was she okay? She still hadn't moved. Had he hurt her? The thought panicked him. He never wanted to hurt her, never! "Hinata-chan." he repeated nudging her with his shoulder. "Are you okay?" his question was firm. There was a sound like swallowing before…she fainted. Just like that. Juugo's eyes popped, catching her before she could make impact with the ground. Her violet hair was hanging like a curtain. Lovely eyes now closed. Juugo was wide-eyed as he moved her into his arms bridal style. 'Did I kill her somehow!?' he thought frantically.

"Hinata-chan? Hinata!" he shook her a bit. She wasn't dead. Just unconscious. He huffed in relief plopping under a tree with her. She fainted? Why? He lightly tapped her cheek a bit, ignoring the softness of it. As she stirred he relaxed visibly but the concern for the Hyugga kunoichi's well being did not leave his expression. Her large lavender white eyes blinked open slowly. She stared up at him. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "Did I hurt you or something?" his eyebrows were furrowed together. Feeling completely embarrassed her face heated up all over again. She suddenly sat up sharply with a yelp. "Oh I'm sorry." he apologized right away as he put her down and she scurried to sit beside him rather than her previous position. "N-no it's fine." she assured. "I'm fine, it just…happens sometimes." she explained. "Oh…" Juugo's face softened a bit and he nodded in understanding.

Hinata looked around at the place he had taken her. Her breath caught. This place was beautiful. How touching it was that he had thought of her when visiting it. It was a hidden little grove of snowy colored cherry trees. The grass was a beautiful shade of green and looked soft and ethereal in the sunlight. There was a crystal blue stream flowing into a clear shimmering pool. Probably teeming with life. The breeze blew about petals from the billowing branches around them. Juugo just allowed himself to enjoy it, leaning back against the tree trunk. He did not get to enjoy much of anything. If he ever got rid of this problem he could enjoy life like this all the time. Hopefully…well he deemed it unwise to get his hopes up but he could not help it. To be free was something he could only dream of. To never hurt anybody again. To live a normal life. Get married. Raise a family. Those thoughts were forbidden and he quickly shunned them. No. None of that. If they were to fail, it would crush him if his hopes were too high. He looked at Hinata again as she gazed at her surroundings. Her pale lavender eyes met his. Her cheeks lighting up with the familiar rosy pink. He smiled at her. "You like it?" he asked thoughtfully.

Hinata had looked over at Juugo only to meet his gaze. She felt the blush warm up on her cheeks. He seemed to not really notice, simply smiling that smile of his. "What?" she asked. "Do you like it?" he motioned to the place to clarify what he meant. "Oh…" she looked around again. "It's…thank you for thinking about me Juugo-kun it's beautiful." she smiled at him softly. He could not help but smile wider at this. She was happy, so he was happy too. Juugo was brought out of his reverie by the little robin that landed in his hair. He looked up curiously. Hinata giggled. The sight was too adorable. He broke out into a smile at the small bird. He reached up to gently pick it off of his head. It fluttered onto his hand on it's own. Hinata could still only be amazed at just how much of a gentle giant he was. He looked back at her again, remembering the first time he really spoke to her in the garden at the hospital. "You want to hold her?" he offered. "Please?" Hinata smiled at the pudgey little ball of feathers, remembering her confusing encounter at the hospital with the berserker.

He leaned over holding out his hand to her. This made Hinata much more aware of just how close together they were sitting. She swallowed but decided to ignore it. The oblivious little creature fluttered into her hands. It's little claws balanced itself on one of her fingers. "Birds like you." Juugo noted. She smiled softly. "You think so?" she tentatively stroked the little animals wings. Juugo smiled down at the girl who seemed intent on making friends with the cheerful little robin. "Yes." he nodded. "I don't know, I-it's probably just because of your presence." she shrugged. "That could be part of it, but your nature is also very inviting, they are frightened of Karin and don't really like Sasuke-san and Suigetsu." he informed. Hinata pursed her lips. "Why are they frightened of Karin?" she asked. "She's too loud, and she makes a lot of sudden moves, she's also disinterested in animals anyway." he explained. "As for Sasuke-san and Suigetsu, they both have sinister chakra signatures that make them feel threatened. They don't like most anybody very much, birds are nervous creatures after all." he added in. "To be expected when one is so small and frail." Hinata commented. "If you are easily breakable you should take more care with what you let close." she whispered.

Juugo stared momentarily. If that were the case…she shouldn't have ever let him close to her. Ever. He looked around wordlessly. "It is going to rain soon." he noted. "Really?" the Hyugga girl looked up from the bird to nearly have her face collide with Juugo's. He backed off the just in time. They both laughed a little bit. He swallowed, sobering a little. "Hinata-chan?" he whispered. "Yes?" she asked, pearly eyes focused. "Why are you so good to me? Why do you not just keep me locked up?" he asked, a slightly saddened expression on his face. The question caught the violet-haired beauty off guard. Why would he ask that? "Nobody deserves that Juugo-kun. Especially not you." she placed a hand on his arm. He tensed. "But…I am not like other people, I'm a murderer." he said with a finality that made Hinata feel cold. "No. Don't think like that." she grabbed his other arms. He sighed. "You are the first person to show such concern for me. I am sorry. I'm just not used to it." he murmured quietly. The had already long been forgotten and neither noticed it flutter back into the branches. "You have people who care about you Juugo-kun." Hinata assured him. This made him feel just so warm inside, he had to smile at her again. His gaze seemed to draw her in. Closer and closer. Little did she know, she _had _been getting closer and closer.

Neither of them had truly noticed either. Juugo had no idea how he had begun to look at her lips. He did not remember doing it. Nothing had even snapped him back to reality until he felt a strange surge. His brow furrowed. When the birds started chattering a warning to him he stiffened and whirled around. Hinata was startled. What had just happened here? "W-w-what? What happened?" she asked in alarm. "Someone…I don't know." Juugo looked around suspiciously. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Someone was there? How come she hadn't noticed? This angered her. She wanted to kick herself. Then she felt an icy fear. If somebody was watching, they could have seen her almost slip up with Juugo. That could be disastrous if her clan jumped to conclusions. Neji would be furious too. "Hinata-chan…" Juugo was standing now staring around at his surroundings. She activated her Byakuggan. There was nobody around. She frowned. Odd. "…I think we should go back to the hospital." he told her in a very different more serious tone.

She nodded her agreement. "Let's go."

With that they were both off, still watching the trees cautiously. Hinata was blushing again, because of what had almost transpired back there. She was not even sure herself. She did not dare to name it an almost kiss. No. The very idea made her head swim. She did not want to look at the red-haired shinobi beside her either. Much to her horror she realized that she had been twiddling her fingers again! She chewed the inside of her cheek in her frustration. All thoughts of the suspicious presence were forgotten as she focused on tending to her nerves. Juugo just felt guilty. Like he'd done something wrong. He couldn't look at her either. There was an embarrassing heat in his ears and along the top of his cheeks. For the first time he was relieved to be going back to his cell. Maybe Hinata-chan would forget all about what just nearly happened by tomorrow. One brief glance and a sharp look the other way from both parties told him otherwise. They sighed to themselves simultaneously.

******

He had to move fast earlier. Making the preparations was incredibly difficult with a doting Uchiha hovering about the girl like a pitbull. Damn bastard. The kyubbi was with her all day too. Not only that, but there was somebody tuning in on him now and then. He could feel it. It irked him, but at the same time he was extremely puzzled, because whoever it was that was sensing him was not coming after him or even making a deal of it. He would have thought that ANBU would be on his tail already. He narrowed his eyes at his surroundings. There was also the time he made to check out the Hyugga heiress and that freak of nature, they had almost seen him though. These people were good. Any other shinobi would have been incapable of sensing him. He refocused onto his plan. The Uchiha would be back in his cell for the night and that would be the perfect moment to test this out. Until then everything was all set. For now he needed to remain on the down low. If this worked out he needed to start checking security systems in the hospital and the Hokage Tower. He scoffed. Really it would great when he could finally leave this hell hole, happy-happy-joy-joy-fuck-guys-like-him-up-the-ass, village. There was just too much noise and laughter. He liked the silence of solitude. He could not wait for all of this to be over. 'Let the games begin.' he thought to himself.

*******

Suigetsu looked absolutely miserable. Like he'd just been forced to sit through hours of something extremely scarring. And it had been scarring. Like up to par with a strip tease by Karin kind of scarring. Ino seemed normal enough. She walked with her normal swish that he absolutely loved but would never say that to her for fear of getting beaten with another shovel. They were on the way back to the shop for a break after working at the nursing home. It sucked over there. Big time. He was sulking the entire time. It had pissed Ino off to no end obviously because she deliberately gave him all of the worse jobs she could. She didn't seem to like him very much. It was not as though he could wonder why either. Of course she didn't like him. As far as she was concerned he was a criminal. Sometimes though she seemed like…maybe…maybe she kind of liked talking to him. It was an odd chemistry between them. Of course he had to open his big mouth and complain. That had been when she made him to change the bed pans. He shivered. Unpleasant. 'Bad images, bad images!' he rubbed at his eyes violently. 'Find a happy place!'

Ino gave him an odd look, raising a brow. He just pouted again and folded his arms. She looked up ahead again. Really he was hilarious sometimes. It was hard to believe he was a hardened killer. The look on his face when she made him clean out the bedpans was priceless. She thought he was going to cry. Luckily she did not laugh directly at him. She would have felt bad. The platinum shook her head with a grin. Yeah she was sadistic. It was official. Wait until Sakura heard about this. When they entered the shop there was the tell tale ringing of the bell on the door. "Mom I'm here for my shift now! You can go!" she called. She motioned for Suigetsu to start working. He huffed. "Is the shrimp tempura here!?" she called.

"At the counter!" the older woman answered before the back door was opened. Apparently her mother didn't want to see Suigetsu very much today. He briefly wondered what it must be like to have your parents so close by all the time like that. Parents. Family. Anybody who gave a damn would have been pretty nice. He shuffled about. "What do I do?" he asked dryly. "Oh sorry." she murmured. "Can you be a dear and bring out the snapdragons from the back?" she asked. He knew it was an order so he just left without a word. "Right." he answered. He soon was in the backroom. The blonde started to separate some of the tempura for him. Hungry workers were never very efficient, she told herself this. She stood at the counter munching on her meal, just in case any customers needed to be dealt with. There was no way she'd have Suigetsu take care of them. He made a child wail the other day just by smiling at them. The conversation with the little girl's mother was not a very pleasant one.

The bell rang again alerting Ino's attention to the front door. Her sky blue orbs widened upon catching a very familiar sight. Oh Kami no. Not now. She did not need this right now! Her teeth bit down on her bottom lip subtly. Standing before her was Sabuku no Temari. The sandy blonde looking back and forth around the shop before her eyes met with Ino's. It felt like time stopped for her at that moment. A smile came over the sand kunoichi's lips and she began to make her way over. Ino brought out her very well practiced smile, trying to avoid anything too awkward. "Hey Ino!" she greeted. Ino was unsure of what to do, but did not have time to decide before Temari was scooping her up in a bear hug. This was too weird. She sighed over the other girl's shoulder. "Long time no see Temari." she greeted back with all the warmth she could muster. "Hey I hear the Hokage totally screwed you over." the other blonde told her as she let go of her. "It's bullshit that they're making you baby sit a criminal like this! You're supposed to come to the wedding missy!" she waved a finger at her. Ino winced. "Yeah." she nodded dumbly.

"Well where is he? I want to install the fear of God into this bastard." she looked over the counter with a scowl. "He's in the back." Ino found herself trying not to frown. She was doing find keeping Suigetsu in check all by herself. Temari did not think much of her did she? "Anyway I came here to say 'hi' and ask you something important." she began. Ino swallowed hard. What sort of question? "Umm…yeah?" she feigned a casual demeanor and leaned over the counter. "You are the best florist I know." she began. "Everybody knows about the Yamanaka Flower shop around here, it's a land mark." Just when Ino unwisely began to let her guard down and was no longer bracing herself it hit her like a ton of bricks. "I wanted to ask you if you could do me the honor of arranging my bouquet for the ceremony." Temari smiled.

Ino's face dropped. Oh the cruel irony. The one thing everybody knew her to be good at got her into a job that she would have rather French Rock Lee than do. "Um….wow Temari that's…" the Leaf kunoichi straightened herself up after a moment. "I'd be honored." she managed. "Great!" Temari clapped. "We can get together and discuss it tomorrow then?" her eyes lit up with hope and Ino could not refuse. "Of course." she sighed with a smile. "Thanks Ino, you're a life saver." Temari enveloped the unsuspecting girl into another hug.

Suigetsu chose that moment to shuffle in. Ino gave him a look that meant. 'Get. Out. Now.' He frowned and shuffled back silently. He was not a shinobi for nothing. "I'll see you later. And don't let that creep back there get to you. You're looking kind of down." she said as she practically skipped out of the door to make more preparations. How could people be so insensitive? It looked like there was no way out of it now. She would have to attend the wedding. Ino let out a breath. She did not notice the knowing eyes of the former mist-nin observing her. He was more intuitive than most people thought. All signs pointed to that girl being that Shikamaru guy's fiance. So that was her huh? Cute. Still, no comparison. What was with this guy? She moved her bangs from her face wearily. She looked terrible now. She was a bit pale, and her eyes looked glassy. It stirred something in him that he hadn't felt in ages. Curse her for being to damn beautiful. Someone like her shouldn't be crying.

Ino walked over to a few crates to be by herself and covered her face. The last thing she had needed today was to talk to Temari. Kami. She was great. So unsuspecting of her feelings too. She would probably hate her if she knew. It all made Ino feel like…like a…slut. She was disgusted by herself and her thoughts. She hated girls like that. Her and Sakura talked about murdering girls like that, and here she was thinking like one of them. Was it really so horrible to be in love with Shikamaru? She knew the answer to that. Yes. It had to be. But Kami was it murder trying to get over it. She had known the man since they were just kids. She was a twelve year old girl. Her affection for the lazy leaf shinobi was deep rooted and profound this she knew. It was not like her affections for Sasuke so long ago. She was aware of all of the things she did not like about him, and yet…he just would not have been Shikamaru without them. Even the fact that he slept way too much, and that sometimes he drooled she did not mind. It was just…him. Without meaning to a single crystal tear ran down her cheek.

Before she could realize what was happening someone was kneeling in front of her. She let out a short gasp as long calloused fingers swiped the drop away. Sky blue met violet as she assessed the sight of Suigetsu squatting down in front of her. He gave an understanding smile and hugged her close. Catching her off guard effectively. "You're okay girlie." he whispered comfortingly. She could not help but latch onto him. She sobbed into his sleeveless shirt. Who cared that he was an S-ranked criminal, he was the only one who was being thoughtful enough to notice her pain. One hand stroked her hair wordlessly. "You know, for somebody who's supposed to be so smart, he's an idiot for not choosing you." he whispered. She choked a little bit, sniffling. "What are you…what do you mean?" she looked up at him. He cleared his throat. "Too many questions." he smiled down at her. He could not very well say that he genuinely liked her. Hell, he shouldn't have come over here anyway. It went against his policy. She frowned at him. He let go. "I should get back to work." he mumbled. "Thanks." she called after him. He stopped and grinned over his shoulder at her. "No problem."

******

"I have to what?" the dutiful ANBU officer raised a disapproving brow. "You are going to have to be in charge of Hebi member Karin." Tsunade answered. He dared not allow the scoff to escape his lips. Not before the Hokage. "Is that truly-"

"Yes it is necessary, Captain." she told him sternly. He narrowed his eyes. These people were up to something that they did not want the council to know. This was very unnerving. "Hai Hokage-sama." he bowed. "Good." she answered eyeing him suspiciously. "If you cause them unnecessary problems, I will not hesitate to have you court-martialed." she warned him. "Hai Hokage-sama." he repeated dutifully. He would do his job. Even if it meant dealing with that loud little shrew. Nobody in the prison liked her mostly because of her whining. "Bring her in." Tsunade called. As the doors opened there was the sound of shouting. The shinobi shuddered at the whiney pitch that he had become accustomed to hearing when inside the prison corridors.

"What's going on here?!" Karin demanded, her words becoming intelligible. "I may be a foreign kunoichi but I still have rights as a human being!" she raved. "It's simple really." the lady Hokage answered. "You are going to be monitored by this fine ANBU here and join your unoccupied team-mates down in the labs everyday." she answered the red-head. Karin was silent. The lab? That means she could go with Sasuke-kun in the mornings. Hell yeah! She was not going to pass this up. "Okay then." she nodded. 'Hook line and sinker.' Tsunade thought to herself, amber eyes flashing triumphantly. That girl would not pass up a chance to spend more time with the Uchiha survivor. "So…when do we start? Now?" she asked cheerily. "Tomorrow." the bristling ANBU corrected sternly. If he was going to be with this…._thing _all of the time for a while he needed time to brace himself. "Ok fine." she pouted. "Very well." the Godaime nodded. She was not about to be crueler than she needed to be. That girl was just so….ugh. Well hopefully her presence would serve as a proper distraction. Sakura and Hinata were clever. They would figure something out. She needed to have faith in them. The council was in for a fight. Let the games begin.

******

"Sasuke, what are you do-"

"Shhh. Naruto." he whispered simply scooping her up out of the wheel chair. He had the usual straight face but the very idea that he was trying to seriously ditch Naruto made Sakura almost bust out laughing. "Why are you so mean?" she asked. "I don't hear you protesting." he drawled, leaping off. She laughed. She would make it up to Naruto later, once Sasuke made up his mind there was no stopping him anyway. Sasuke used his inhuman speed to rush them off into the hall. "Hey slow down, you'll hurt somebody!" she protested, afterwards realizing that this was Sasuke she was talking about. He was nothing if not in control. Still though, much to her surprise he actually listened to her. He did not however stop running all together. As they rushed down the hall they passed a very flustered Hinata and Juugo. "Um…Hi Hinata! Bye Hinata!" Sakura waved helplessly at them with a small I'm-being-kidnapped-but-I-don't-really-mind smile. Both Juugo and Hinata waved wordlessly at the pair as Sasuke barely gave an acknowledgment. They then exchanged knowing glances and continued back to Juugo's hospital cell.

"OI TEME! SAKURA-CHAN! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!?" Naruto returned only to find that his team-mates had ditched him. Sakura's wheel chair sat there abandoned in the lab. Just like him. They had all decided to come down to the lab again to run a few tests, and the moment he had left to the bathroom, they were gone. Probably all Sasuke's idea. "TEME! YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN I FIND YOU!!!" he bellowed. Sasuke was being a jerk. He'd been trying to steal Sakura-chan away for himself all day. The Kyubbi vessel pouted shamelessly. That bastard. He would get back at him later. He was always so greedy. Since he had gotten back Sakura-chan seemed to now fit under his greedy category. Whether she realized it or not. But he had. Every one had the nerve to call _him_ slow. He noticed though. Urgh! Well…time to alleviate his boredom. Kakashi-sensei was busy so he decided to prowl for someone to chill with today. Maybe Sai was free.

******

"He's going to rant about this all day tomorrow." Sakura warned the raven-haired shinobi as he busied himself carrying her around. "Hn." he stated. "Where are we going?" she asked. "Home." he answered. It felt odd for him to be calling her apartment home. Not in a bad way but still. "Ah…and my chair?" she asked. "You have one at home remember?" he asked. "Yes but does that mean we are going to just leave my spare?" she pouted indignantly. "Sakura. Stop being annoying." he frowned. "Well excuse me." she shrugged. A long time ago she would be blushing and squealing for joy if her beloved 'Sasuke-kun' was carrying her home bridal style. Now however she was just a bit annoyed already. "I'm hungry." she muttered. "Hn." he responded. She rolled her eyes. Well _this_ was going to be fun.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay to phew! This took me a while to get out there. I hope you guys liked it. Please provide feedback peeps. (teehee! I love marshmallow peeps xD.) It looks like Juugo and Hinata have begun to finally embark on the romanticalness between them :D. That lucky Sakura finally nabbed her man rofl, but seriously if she were the same as she was in the beginning of the series I wouldn't want them together so yeah lol. Karin is like a re-vamped version of the old Sakura. I found it very disturbing, but at least she isn't so bad anymore in the series. And how about Ino and Sui-kun huh? ;D. Anywho Ciao!

I haven't really been doing many shout outs because I keep rushing to get out the updates T.T. To Number1Weirdo though lol it's actually a pretty cute idea. I'll deff use it if I find an opportunity in the plot xD. Ciao bella! Lol I love saying that.


	16. Third Wheel Club

Author's Note: Hey yall! New Chappie for Crazy in Love! So I hope you guys like this chapter. I need feedback people! This getting very hard to keep up with whilst dealing with story requests and ideas that impede my creativity. L. Anyways enjoy it. I'm nearly running on empty ugh. I need some tasty yum yum food.

Disclaimer: I absatively posaloutely don't own Naruto. Or it's characters. Writing disclaimers is really getting annoying already T.T. For the sixteenth time it's-not-mine. I feel like ripping off my arm just to have something to throw at this stupid legal business. I SPIT ON YOUR LAWYERS!

**Chapter Fifteen: Third Wheel Club**

"Guess what, Sasuke-kun! I'm coming with you today!" Karin told the last Uchiha joyfully. He looked at her sharply. "What?" he well concealed his alarm. "Yeah, ANBU is escorting me to do my parole, and my parole officer is going to be working with you guys!" she chirped on excitedly. Sasuke felt his lip twitch. Great. He had just had some time away from her. Finally after so long. Now she would be going with him to the Hospital everyday. At least she had her own escort. He would not be bothered with her. Sakura would be showing up soon, or at least she was supposed to be showing up. She hadn't come and that alarmed him because Sakura was always ever punctual. Wheel chair or not. Today Ino had gotten here first, and picked up a very happy Suigetsu. Sasuke was certain he noticed that the mist-nin was grinning like a rapist in his sleep last night. Any other person would have been a bit disturbed. He was simply confounded. "It looks like pinkys late today." Karin noted with satisfaction. He twitched. There was a hissing sound of the air tight doors opening. Sasuke peered out with his Sharingan. Nope. It was not Sakura.

"You with the red-hair." It was a tall ANBU captain wearing his mask professionally. Sasuke regarded him coldly. "It's time to go…hurry it up." he unlocked her cell. She bounced out. "Sasuke-kun is supposed to come too." she told him. Onyx eyes rolled. "Where's Haruno-san?" he asked Sasuke evenly. "She's late." he answered. "Well we can't have that, come along. Move it."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at being ordered around. "You heard me." he ANBU motioned. Any other day Sasuke would have told him to fuck himself, but he wanted to see why Sakura had not showed up yet so he took the opportunity. Besides, she had made him promise not to pick fights with the ANBU officers. He stood up wordlessly. There was a moment of silence, as if behind the mask the ANBU was slightly surprised by his compliance. He was probably looking for an excuse to file a complaint about his behavior. With a half smirk he stepped out of his cell. "Hn." he folded his arms. He stood a bit taller than the other shinobi which gave him more of an edge at that moment as they stared at each other briefly. "We are going to the lab?" he asked with a smug note to his voice. He could feel the ANBU's glare from behind his mask. Karin was much pleased that Sasuke was coming with. Who knows maybe they could catch up finally without that rosette getting in the way.

It was not until they were outside that the Uchiha gave a smug smirk before vanishing with a whoosh of air created by his sheer speed. There was a choked gasp from Karin, and an incredibly pissed to no end ANBU left behind in his wake. "Where is he going?" he demanded to the red-head. With a sulk Karin glared at him. "How should I know!?" she screeched. He appeared calm on the outside, but on the inside, the moment he heard that familiar screech he stomped down the urge to kill the source with fire. He turned to continue walking. "In that case it can't be helped, come on move it." he rushed impatiently. Karin followed reluctantly. She was not an idiot. Something told her that she _did_ know where the lone Uchiha survivor was headed. The very concern this action displayed felt like a punch in the gut.

The Uchiha had stopped at the front door of Sakura's house. To his great disapproval the door was unlocked. He would have to lecture her about that. He stepped in soundlessly. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything in place. The raven-haired nin made his way to the girl's room to see what had been keeping her, or if she was even home. Soundlessly he pushed open her bedroom door. He raised a brow at the sight before him, feeling slightly insulted. She was…_sleeping_? He glared. Since when did Sakura sleep in? Sasuke's first instinct was to shake her awake and remind her sternly of her job, but as he made his way over he noted the worn drawn out expression on her sleeping face. Like she'd just fought a battle last night or something. But what could she have possibly done last night after he had left? He had been certain she'd gone right to bed. Plus it was difficult to strain yourself in a wheel chair.

He couldn't bear to shake her awake. Gritting his teeth angrily, he pinched the bridge of his nose. She was no good for his image. Straightening up he knelt over her and gently prodded her cheek. The rosette beauty made a soft mewl of discontent but did not respond beyond a small stirr. With a brief frown, he repeated the gesture. Green eyes opened into tired slits. "Mmm…Sas…kay?…" she crooned sleepily. He narrowed his jet black eyes. Suddenly she was wide awake with a loud. "GAAAHHH!!! I SLEPT IN!?" The look on her face would have been quite comical if Sasuke did not feel as though he had been completely forgotten. He folded his arms and stood up. "Yes. You did." he nodded. 'And you worried the hell out of me for nothing.' was his after thought. "I'm sorry Sasuke!" she threw off the blanket. For a moment she thought, and flushed a bit. "Um…could you please wait outside?" she giggled nervously. Sasuke made no move to question her, just nodded and left the room to give the pinkette girl her privacy.

"Er…thanks!" she called after him as he closed the door with a "Hn." He looked around absently, noting the small details of her house since he had nothing else to do while he waited. He noted something just then…on the floor. Keen shinobi eyes picked up on the subtle bits of dirt and dry leaves here and there on the floor. Almost like a trail. Being a very detail oriented person, he was certain that, that was not there last night. Paranoid by nature, he took a look. Squatting down he picked up a slight dried up leaf between his thumb and forefinger. It looked like the leaves from the sapling oaks that were just planted in front of the hospital. Normally that would not be suspicious. Sakura was a frequent visitor of the hospital seeing as she worked there but…

His gaze followed the barely noticeable trail that led to her room. "Sakura." he called calmly. "Hmm?" her voice came from behind the door. "When did you last clean your house?" he asked. There was a brief silence. "Give me a break Sasuke. I'm sorry my house is too dirty for you. For your information I did it just yesterday morning so ha." she responded wryly. Onyx eyes bled crimson. Someone was in here last night. This trail was not made by a wheel chair. He stood up. What did they want in her house? It could not have been a burglar…nothing was taken. He would not alarm her just yet. "Okay!" she opened the door to her room and wheeled out. "I don't have time to make myself breakfast today so I'll pick something up." she waved dismissively at the kitchen. "How are you legs?" he asked. "Ooh! I wiggled my toes a little yesterday after you left, it's not much but it's more than I had dared to hope for." she smiled brightly. "You should lock your door, Sakura." he told her sternly.

"Random much?" she raised a brow. "I found it unlocked when I got here just now." he informed. "Oh…really? But I swear I locked it right after you left." she frowned in puzzlement. "That's not all." he told her. "Somebody was in here." he motioned to the trailed in dirt. Emerald eyes scanned the leaves and random bits of gravel. Alarmed orbs slid their gaze back to meet his. "But…it makes no sense. What were they after?…and why didn't they attack me?" she asked tapping her lip in thought. It was a strange occurrence truly. "I don't know." he shook his head. "Ugh I feel like I ran a marathon or something." she stretched miserably. She was so sore. Sasuke did not respond. He was staring at something. "What?" she asked.

He knelt down in front of her and lifted her leg. She stared at him like he grew ten pairs of eyes. Until she saw it too. Her eyes popped and she caught his suspicious stare. Abruptly she shook her head no imploring him to believe her. He calmed down. "Then whoever is responsible must have used your shoes." he flicked off some of the leaves and dirt from the sandals. The pink-haired kunoichi bit her bottom lip in anxious alarm. "Let's go." he stood back up stoically. "We will keep talking later, and by the way…I'm staying here tonight." he said determinedly. Sakura looked up at him with surprise. Was he really so worried about her? "What if the ANBU don-?" she began inquiring but was harshly cut off.

"They will have no say once the Hokage hears my report." his tone was dark and dangerous. "Okay…let's go Sasuke…we're late." she told him tiredly. He nodded and they were off after he chivalrously opened the front door for her.

Have you ever had the feeling you were being observed? Hinata felt that very strongly today for a while. Whenever she activated her Byakuggan though there was nothing to be seen. Strange really. Neji returned from his mission today. She would be happy to see him. The Hyugga heiress really did miss her cousin while he was away. Right now though there was no phantom feeling creeping up on her anymore so she wasn't thinking about it. Plus the lab was filled with probably one of the most awkward silences she'd ever experienced in her life. She sat with Juugo alone, with a certain red-head and a strange ANBU standing across from them. She twiddled her fingers in her lap. Juugo looked about absently. Where on earth were Sakura and Sasuke? Naruto bounded in, making sweat start to bead on Hinata's forehead considering he had very dark feelings toward the ANBU sent to join them…or should she saw watch them. What were they, convicts? Well…Sasuke not included. Still…they did not need to have their loyalties questioned. When did they ever do anything to harm the village?

"HEY GUYS!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Oh Kami not him." Karin rolled her eyes. The blonde's face dropped. "HEY! What is THAT doing in here?" he pointed at Karin with disdain. She was the one who was always all over his best friend despite his obvious hatred for it. This bothered Naruto a lot. Didn't Sasuke have enough to deal with in his life? The creepy bitch needed to back off already. This girl had the nerve to think she was even close to being on par with Sakura-chan? Karin sniffed at him with disgust. "The Hokage put her under my watch since I was to be involved with the study of Subject D." the ANBU stated with obvious dislike for the situation. Naruto glared and Hinata frowned at the term. They had not heard Juugo referred to as 'Subject D' in quite a while. The level of de-humanizing it did to the gentle giant angered them.

"He has a name." Naruto said in a calm voice. "We'd really appreciate it if you used it." he added. "I'd rather distance myself from any attachment thank you." the man in the mask responded professionally. Hinata gave Naruto a look that meant 'don't-do-it'. He calmly sat beside her and Juugo on the counter. "Is Haruno-san often late? I would have expected better from the Godaime Hokage's apprentice." he asked them. "No. She is very punctual, this is the first time this has happened." Hinata assured him, keeping herself from getting emotionally winded up by the ANBU's insensitivity. He was just doing his job. She reminded herself of that. A job that was ordered by that piece o-…oh there she goes again. Ordered by elder Danzo. Hinata was filled with embarrassment over how she exploded over the situation. Her cheeks flushed a little bit.

Karin eyed the violet haired girl seated across from her. She was the leader of a prestigious clan? She did not look like much honestly. At the moment she looked more like a simpering child. The red-haired woman raised a brow. Lavendar eyes met hers and suddenly gave her an odd look. Like a stern stare. Karin folded her arms and looked the other way. Hinata went back about her business. That Karin woman was giving her a look she was familiar with. Her father used to look at her like that. She had made sure to pointedly let her know to keep her patronizing stare to herself. It seemed as though she got her point across when the other woman looked the other way. She may look timid but she could easily put those who underestimate her, back into their place.

The doors swung open and Sasuke and Sakura appeared. Naruto stood up and pointed an accusing fingers at them. "WHY ARE YOU LATE!?" he demanded then folded his arms. Apparently he was still mad at them for ditching him the day before. Sakura gave him an apologetic look and Sasuke just joined in with an annoyed glare. "I'm sorry everybody, it wont happen again." she promised. "Sasuke-kun!" Karin greeted with a wave. He stared at her and twitched a little in frustration. She moved to stand between the onyx eyed nin and his rosette companion. Sakura glared at the other woman in response. Garnet eyes simply gave off a smug light as Karin grinned down at her, clinging to Sasuke's arm. The Uchiha yanked away said arm and folded it into his chest with it's counter part. Karin pouted and smoothed out her uneven locks before folding her arms similarly. After a moment he moved around the girls until he was on the other side of Sakura so that her chair was between him and Karin. Deep down Sakura felt a secret bubble of smugness and satisfaction from this simple act.

"I would like to be filled in on the basic knowledge of Subject D's condition." The ANBU spoke up. Some of them exchanged candid looks to one another. Juugo simply cast his eyes down, not liking this situation one bit. Not to mention being spoken about like he was not even in the room. "Juugo's chakra…adrenaline tends to aggravate his condition so we are focusing on that." Hinata informed. "Can you please keep her away from me?" Sasuke was getting annoyed at the incessant attempts that a certain sound kunoichi kept making to vie for his attention. The trained killer behind the mask rolled his eyes. He was made for dangerous S-ranked missions, not baby sitting fatal attraction's ugly twin sister. "Subject B. Would you please refrain from disturbing Subject A while we are here?" he said with a forced calm in his voice. Really he was thinking 'Stop impeding my job, you dumb bitch!' "Hey! I'm just talking to him!" she protested, beginning a confrontation. Sasuke rolled his eyes, feeling pretty unlucky today. This provided enough of a distraction that Sakura scrawled down a note on some paper and passed it to Hinata in the blink of an eye.

Pearly eyes stared at the medic-nin inquisitively. Sakura simply nodded back as if urging her to read it. With a curious frown Hinata looked down at the paper again and nodded quickly to her as she subtly unfolded it. Peering down she read out the quickly scribbled words to herself.

'_Sasuke and I need to talk to you guys later okay? After this guy isn't here.' _

Looking back up at her Hinata had a worried expression for a second before shaking it off and giving her and understanding nod. Sakura responded back with a grateful nod of her own. Her slender hand crumpled the small scrap of paper silently before stuffing it into her pocket. They shared a meaningful glance. The ANBU turned to them. He seemed unaffected by Karin's antics but he secretly wanted some Tylenol very badly. Naruto gave the two girls a questioning glance behind his back, but Sakura mouthed a 'later' to him. He nodded back an affirmative. All of this went on right under a trained ANBU's nose. Damn the Rookie Nine were one persistent group.

The Yamanaka Flower shop was pretty slow today, and once again Ino's mother showed her distaste for Suigetsu's presence. Oh well. '_She'll warm up to me eventually.' _he thought to himself dismissively. He did not hold it against her. He himself was not very trusting of strangers himself. Never mind former enemies. Anything could happen in that kind of situation. Right now though, he was more focused on the girl rifling through the mail for that day. A thought had come to his mind that he was curious about so he decided to ask.

"So…you going?"

"Where?" Ino asked the Mist-nin under her care. "Come on, you know what I mean." he motioned to the wedding invitation. The blonde bit her lip momentarily. She had been trying to avoid that train of thought. "I was trying to have a good day today Suigetsu." she glared defensively at him. "Well it's going to be in a couple of weeks, and that Temari girl wanted to go shopping for a dress for you so I was just wondering…are you going?" he repeated his question. Ino let out a long sigh as sky blue orbs rolled to the ceiling. "I already started the bouquet, and I don't think I have much of a choice." she muttered. "Okay." he shrugged. "But…what are you going to do about me?" he asked casually. "You still have baby sitting to do." he reminded her. Ino had a hidden look in her eyes but she stomped it away. "I wont skip out on Shikamaru, to keep watch on you. He would see through that right away." she folded her arms.

"In that case…am I invited?" he grinned wickedly. "Not if you make that face one more time you're not." she leaned away from him. He laughed. "Sorry." he shook his head. There was a long silence. A stifling, deafening silence between them. She seemed to be debating. "Well…?" he trailed. Ino could not believe she was actually considering this! Bringing an S-ranked prisoner to her team-mate's wedding!? It seemed so wrong and yet…so right. Did she dare? It was crazy. It was risky. It was probably rude. It was…a good idea. She would not be able to find anybody else to watch him that day anyway. Besides that, his presence would definitely distract her from the issues she would be experiencing if she were alone. Chouji would not like it. The other day the heavy set team-mate of her's had warned her that Suigetsu was not like everybody in the village. He was a hardened killer. Dangerous. Ino was a bit annoyed by this. She was not an idiot. She was in ANBU for crying out loud!

She brought herself out of her ponderings. "You know what? Yeah Suigetsu, I think I'm bringing you." she nodded in agreement. The ex-missing nin broke out into a grin that nearly split his face. A wedding huh? It should be an interesting experience. "Cool." he nodded. "Do not make me regret it." she warned him with an icy tone promising hell. "Wouldn't dream of it." he shook his head. "Good."

It had worked. There had been some close calls but it had worked. This forbidden jutsu was a go so far. He had spent a lot of time getting the hang of it but he had plenty of time to accomplish that. He had perfect control of it now. Now what was needed was detailed research on the security systems at the hospital. No big deal. It would be easier if he could only find an insider but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. At least it was not necessary. He was not going break in just yet. Once he had figured out the basics it would be a synch. First he would need to get a layout of the floors and locate the lab itself. That was the easy part. Alarms would be difficult to detect and chakra detectors were a bitch no matter _where _you went. Hmmm. Well this would not be a walk in the park but hey the boss was counting on him and well…he liked a good challenge.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay so I finally got out another chapter! Phew! Yeah I know. This was hell to write. I was in a drought from hell! Anyhow please review!!! Give me a muse! Rofl. Till next time! Ciao!


	17. Hard Truth

**Author's Note: One More Chappie! Woohoo! Let us see what's happening here. Karin is now in their hair. Ain't it grand? We shall see how they handle it. And what of Sakura? What peril is lurking after her? Dun Dun DUUN! Read and find out. No time for long greetings, just many thanks to all those who reviewed and faved so far. I'm glad yall like it. **

**Disclaimer: Sorry no time for a proper disclaimer! Gotta run! I don't own anything! Nothing!!! Ciao! XD. **

**Chapter Sixteen: Hard Truth**

"I would like to request permission to stay at Sakura's home for the night." Sasuke bluntly asked the Hokage. The motherly woman was startled by this sudden request. Her first instinct was to say hell no. Let an S-ranked criminal sleep in her apprentice's home?! However, her better judgment reminded her that this was Uchiha Sasuke she was talking about. He always avoided contact unless absolutely necessary, and this was Sakura. She was a smart girl. A tough girl. The Uchiha's head would be caved in before he could even so much as touch her hair without permission. This putting her at ease, she willed her nerves down and told herself not to murder the only Uchiha left in existence. "Why exactly do you plan on sleeping in my student's house?" she looked the perfect picture of impassive. On the inside however she needed to know his reasons and she needed to know now. "Shisou." Sakura began. "Something happened last night that was…out of the ordinary." she explained. "Oh?" the Godaime raised a brow.

"Yes." the pinkette nodded. "Explain." she motioned for Sakura to continue. As Sakura recounted what happened amber eyes regarded the pair with new concern. "Yesterday…several rookie nine shinobi reported seeing somebody training in the back woods but none were able to see who it was." she informed the two team-mates. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "The Hospital?" he inquired. "Somebody was lurking around there too…how did you know?" she regarded him folding her arms. "The leaves on Sakura's floor." he stated evenly. Tsunade's face softened in thought. "There is no doubt that whoever was spotted was in Sakura's home." she murmured. Her hair stood on end. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Sakura shiver a little bit. "Sasuke…what if it's him?" her green eyes stared at the Uchiha. "If it is…I will kill him." he stated simply. "Not yet." Tsunade broke in.

"There is a chance that he is not the only one. There is obviously a goal somebody is trying to achieve." she stroked her chin. "If you find that this is in fact the shinobi who attacked Sakura before, capture him." she ordered. Sasuke looked a bit unhappy but agreed none the less. A breakthrough for the boy. Sakura really did him some great good. "I am granting your request, just try not to look suspicious." she sighed. "Hn." Sasuke nodded curtly. "Thanks Tsunade-shisou, for understanding our intention." Sakura told her mentor. "Ha ha, I thought that you might have assumed Sasuke and I wanted too…well…never mind that." she added with a soft laugh. She rolled her chair out. "Come on Sasuke." she tapped the dark haired boy's arm before opening the doors on her own. "I'll see you for therapy later!" she called over her shoulder as Sasuke rushed her out the door, not liking to be late. The Godaimed twitched. "Wait Uchiha!" she called sternly. He looked at her with a raised brow. "I would like to talk to you in private." she explained. "Hn." he turned back around. Sakura eyed her teacher with worry evident on her face. Tsunade simply gave her an assuring nod. Sasuke looked at her as if to say 'wait for me.' The doors were closed behind Sasuke as he moved to sit down once again. "Uchiha…I just wanted to let you know right now…" she began and stood up, leaning over her desk to look the sharingan wielder in the eye. A bold feat that showed her disregard for his blood line limit right now. "If I so much as get a rumor of Uchiha clan rebuilding before the proper time…I will prohibit you from even looking at her and lock you up for the rest of your life. Understood?" she asked.

Sasuke matched her gaze unwaveringly. "My intent is to protect." he stated. "Not soil my family name by taking a woman out of wed lock." his eyes spoke volumes more. She leaned back. "See that you don't. I am trusting you." she never let her eyes leave his. "Hn." he closed his eyes and nodded, showing his lack of ill intentions. "Good. You are dismissed." she waved him off. With well practiced grace the last Uchiha exited the Hokage's office with all the dignity his family name had left. She sighed, leaning back. What would she do with these kids? Now to explain this to ANBU…better yet the council. The older woman huffed and pinched the bridge of her nose. What a day she was having.

Sakura had told Hinata everything already. It was a very alarming piece of information. As soon as Naruto discovered it, he too had demanded to stay at the pinkette's house as well. Sakura had been thrilled and called it a "Team Seven Stake Out." A soft smile touched the Hyugga girl's features at the memory. She could not blame Sakura for behaving so nostalgically. Sasuke did not seem very thrilled, then again he never seemed very thrilled about anything at all. Anyhow, it made Hinata breathe easier knowing that both Sasuke and Naruto would be there for her. All that was missing was Kakashi, he had a mission with Sai however, and would probably not be back for a while. Well here she was helping Juugo meditate. They sat in the middle of an open field. The cool afternoon breeze accompanying them nicely.

"Have you ever done stuff like this before?" she asked the large berserker as she sat across from him. He smiled. "I have done several different methods, it is good to know new ones." he answered her. Hinata nodded. "It shows, you have a natural knack for it." she complimented. "Thank you." Juugo nodded. Hinata sighed, staring into the scenery. "What's wrong?" her companion asked. "Just concerned about, Sakura-san." she explained. "Oh…" he nodded in understanding. "Sometimes I feel as thought it's all my fault." he admitted solemnly. Hinata looked at him. "I feel that…if I weren't here, none of these problems would be befalling you all." he pursed his lips in thought. "No Juugo-kun." Hinata told him sternly. "Do not blame yourself for this. We decided on our own to help you, to be your allies." she assured him. "Yes…I know…I am grateful." he told her, meaning it with every fiber of his being. She squeezed his hand with a smile.

"Hinata-sama." a voice greeted. Hinata turned happily at the sound. "Neji-kun!" she stood and gave her cousin a warm hug. "You're back." she smiled up at him. He nodded, returning the hug calmly. "I came to greet you before meeting with Ten-ten to report to the Godaime Hokage." he informed. Hinata stood back regaining some of her "Leader dignity" as Naruto would call it. "I am pleased that your mission went well. Was anybody harmed?" she asked with concern. He shook his head. "Nothing major." he answered. "Lee is still with Kakashi and Sai…I must admit it is strange going on a mission without hearing somebody yell about 'youth' every now and then." he remarked. "Hello Neji-san." Juugo greeted politely. The dark-haired Hyugga offered back a nod to his cousin's patient. "I'm teaching Juugo-kun some of the Hyugga meditation methods." Hinata explained casually. Neji raised a brow but said nothing. It was her right as leader after all to choose who is trustworthy enough to share family techniques with.

"HEY IT'S NEJI!" Naruto greeted loudly out of nowhere. "Hello Naruto-kun." Hinata nodded to the blonde knucklehead. "Uzumaki.." Neji nodded. The hyper active shinobi waved enthusiastically at the stoic Hyugga. "Hey Hinata-chan! Sakura-chan told me to come get you and Juugo." he told her cheerfully. "So early?" Hinata frowned. "Well…The Baachan found something wrong when she was checking up on her so she has to bring you to the lab to tell you a few things before heading back to the hospital for some tests." he scratched the back of his head. Juugo stood up. "Is she okay?" he asked. "Yeah but it was really weird." Naruto remarked. Hinata furrowed her brow in thought. "What happened?" she asked him. "You'll have to ask Sakura-chan." he answered. With a hurried nod the young clan leader turned to her cousin to excuse herself. "Apologies. I have to get to work Neji-kun." she nodded. "Come Juugo-kun." she then motioned for their subject to follow her. Neji simply nodded. Juugo easily kept up with his long strides. He watched them leave for a moment with the kyubbi vessel. Pearly eyes narrowed. It seemed things were still the same. He was still in the dark. What would he do about it?

"I'm glad you made it!" Sakura greeted happily. Sasuke standing silently behind her as usual. "Sakura-chan, what happened with the physical therapy?" Hinata asked right away. "I have no time to explain that, later I promise." the pinkette waved dismissively. Sasuke frowned at her disregard for the situation. Though he could not blame her. What with this ANBU officer hovering around like a fly. He would not have wanted to talk about it either.

**Flash Back:**

Tsunade infused her chakra to check on her apprentice's nerve endings and the like to see how she was coming along. Something was different though. The experienced woman frowned. "This is not possible." she shook her head. "What is it shisou?" Sakura asked. Sasuke was listening intently. "Your muscles…it's as if they were engaged in strenuous activity." amber eyes narrowed. "There is an excess of lactic acid like you've been exercising strenuously." she explained. Emerald eyes widened. "But I…I went right to bed after Sasuke left. I swear." Sakura shook her head. "I believe you Sakura, but I think this has a lot to do with whomever broke into your home last night." the Godaime stated confidently. "But…how…?" the pinkette was breathless with worry. "I don't know Sakura, I really don't know." the older woman shook her head. Sasuke stood up. "Whoever did it must have some deeper motive. I have no qualms in believing that this is the same shinobi who attacked Sakura." he stated professionally. He wanted to get his hands on him. Badly. Tsunade nodded. "I trust your judgment Uchiha." she told him firmly. "Hn." he nodded back.

She turned back to her student. Who seemed deep in thought about something. "Sakura." she began. "I want to keep you here to check up on some more stuff, just to make sure that whatever this was did not affect your recovery, then I will study your chakra channels some more." she informed. "Yes Tsunade-shisou." Sakura nodded. She seemed to have a light in her eyes now. It was the kind of light that Sakura got when she had an idea about something important to her. Heh. What was she ruminating over this time? "I just want to talk to Hinata-chan about an idea I just came up with." she smiled at her teacher, who returned a wry smile of her own. She knew this girl so well. "Very well, but hurry up." she ordered. "Hai." the rosette nodded and wheeled out, the Uchiha following soon after.

**End Flash Back:**

In any case it had been an interesting scenario. Right now he was just interested to see what Sakura was thinking. "At therapy I had an idea that might work well in this scenario." she smiled at Juugo. In the background Karin scoffed. Emerald eyes rolled for a moment, before the rosette shook her head. "In any case, since the chakra production in Juugo's system is off base I figured that it was a problem with his chakra glands. At first I considered surgery." she placed down a clip board. Karin was clinging to Sasuke's arm pathetically as he paid close attention to what Sakura was saying. "However, I think a more natural attempt would be better suited to Juugo. It's a long shot, but I think it's worth a shot." she cleared her throat. "What is it!?" Naruto urged. "I think a series of chakra infusions could work, over a period of time of course but it might be a long while before his body regulates the way it should." she explained. "Chakra infusions? It just seems so simplistic." Hinata stroked her chin.

"Not just any chakra, it needs to be dormant, and the cells have to have absolutely no irregularities." the medic-nin answered. "Pfft!" Karin released Sasuke's arm much to his relief. "So you want the chakra to act like a sponge?" she placed her hands on her hips. "Only to a degree. The excess chakra would be absorbed and achieve a normal balance." Sakura explained. "This will get his system used to a normal chakra level." Sasuke remarked. "Yes." Sakura gave him a nod. Karin rolled her eyes. "Okay so his system might get used to normal levels of chakra, will that really change anything?" she asked skeptically. She was starting to get on their nerves again. The ex-Sound kunoichi was just insistent on being contrary to whatever the pink haired medic was saying. "Like I said, it is a long shot. However once balance is achieved, and normal cells are being circulated his system will begin to produce more normal chakra cells. I could be wrong, but it would not harm him or any of us to try." she stated. Karin glared.

The ANBU watched silently. They were not intent on explaining how they reached any conclusions with him. Another issue was the detail of mutated chakra cells? He had assumed this was a curse seal. That is what the council had been informed of. The red-head…Karin. He shuddered. She was now clinging to the Uchiha's arm again. He felt a pang of pity, even for the village traitor. She had squeezed between him and the medic. She was obviously threatened by Haruno-san. Well by the looks of it, rightly so. The last living Uchiha seemed to have a certain…preference for the girl. Speaking of 'preferences' Subject D seemed to be quite fond of the Hyugga heiress before him. He narrowed his eyes behind the mask. She did not seem to dislike him so much herself…could he be onto something? There was something wrong with this entire picture.

"It sounds like an idea!" Naruto commented. Sasuke pulled his arm away from Karin with an annoyed huff, and walked around to the other side of Sakura's chair. "Who pray tell is going to volunteer to offer up their chakra for something so exhausting and time consuming?" Karin sassed. Sakura let out a sigh as she followed Sasuke and squeezed between them…again. "I'm sure-"

"I'll do it!" Naruto volunteered readily.

"Of course he would." Karin scoffed. "Actually Naruto-kun. It would be a lot easier if someone more familiar with the process of chakra extraction be the one to do it." Hinata commented. Sasuke perked up. Yanking his arm away again. "I am willing." he stated simply. "I don't think that's a good idea." Sakura interjected. "I don't want my Sasuke-kun to be put through that." Karin hissed, glaring at the two girls. There was another annoyed silence as the group of ninjas held back their tempers. Sasuke twitched. "As I was saying." Sakura massaged her temples. "Since Sasuke has the curse-seal, his chakra might not be the best option." she reminded. "Ah yes…I almost forgot." Hinata remarked. Karin hugged Sasuke's arm again. Juugo seemed very conflicted. "So then…who?" he asked. "That will be the issue." Sakura remarked. They all exchanged glances. Karin's garnet eyes watched as Sasuke seemed transfixed even if just for a moment by such a simple act as the other girl idly curling pink strands of hair around her fingers. It was not fair. She chewed the inside of her cheek. When Karin's hip nudged Sakura's chair forward a little the rosette lost it.

"Will you just leave Sasuke and I alone for Kami's sake!?" she gave the red-head an incredulous stare. "Kami! You are so creepy!" she shouted. Karin glared. "You want to start something pinky?" she asked menacingly. Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can't you see he doesn't like you!? Take a hint!" she gestured to Sasuke wildly, who was glaring daggers at Karin. Juugo was shifting nervously. "Please…" he trailed. "Bitch! You're just jealous cause he left you to work with us!!" Karin shouted back at the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura's eyes widened. "He did not leave the village for you! Dumb bitch!" she countered. "He didn't even know you then!" green eyes were alive with fire. "You want a piece of me whore!?" Karin yelled. "Bitch please! I'll kick your ass, in this wheel chair!" the medic answered.

Hinata was concerned for Juugo as he hugged himself protectively. Karin was being annoying, and as much as Hinata would have enjoyed to see Sakura run her over repeatedly with her wheel chair, all of this tension was not good for Juugo-kun. Besides it was very unprofessional and had to be stopped. The violet-haired beauty placed a calming hand on Sakura's shoulder, who quickly righted herself. "Karin." Hinata began without emotion. Really she wanted to tell her to go rape a vibrator but this would just have to do. "I would appreciate some form of professionalism, we don't have time for this, so please cease provoking my associates." she told her calmly. Karin was filled with rage at this girl's nerve to command her to do anything. This mouse? Wine colored eyes narrowed themselves.

"Okay sweetie listen to me. A. This has nothing to do with you. B. Are you giving me orders?" she laughed. Pearly, lavender eyes narrowed. "You? The simpering little, stuttering, mouse? Ha! How a girl like you even became a clan leader I'll never know. It just proves that this is probably one of the most pathetic villages I've ever-ACK!" Karin was not able to finish her tirade before she suddenly found herself in excruciating pain on the floor after receiving the Hyugga technique 'gentle fist' right in the chest. In an instant the little "mouse" she had just talked down to was on top of her delivering a flurry of punches and pulling at her uneven locks viciously. "Hinata!" Sakura gasped. There was no stopping the white eyed girl right then though. Naruto watched his wide eyes before holding back laughter. Really, what he wanted to do was start shouting the chant "Beat that hoe! Beat that hoe! Beat that hoe with a baseball bat!" but something told him that he would be in major shit with Sakura-chan if he did. The door was opened just then to reveal Hyugga Neji. Great. He showed up then of all times.

Hinata was in a rage. Karin had sounded just like her father, and to bad mouth her village!? No! Unforgivable. UNFORGIVABLE! Her temper was out of control. She did not even notice the others around her. Juugo staring in shock and even more confusion than ever. What should he do? What should he feel about this? Even Sasuke was at a loss. "HOW DARE YOU!" she shouted. "YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO TALK DOWN TO US LIKE YOU'RE SUPERIOR!? YOU!? YOU CREEPY, STALKER, DISGUSTING, BITCH! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU! I HATE THEM! THIS VILLAGE IS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE ON THIS GREEN EARTH! NOT THAT YOU COULD APPRECIATE IT YOU LITTLE APE! I SHOULD KILL YOU!" she ranted angrily. The ANBU was about to break in but Neji stopped him and intervened himself. "Hinata-sama!" he scolded. She barely acknowledged her cousin's appearance. "N-NO! LET ME GO! CAPTAIN HYUGGA RELEASE ME AT ONCE!" she yelled, only to be restrained tighter. Neji began to calmly whisper into his little cousin's ear. She relaxed and began to cry in humiliation and frustration into his chest. Scooping her up, Neji carried her out. They had things to discuss.

Sakura hurried after the pair followed by Sasuke and Naruto. Even the other ANBU Captain followed them. Juugo wanted to go but…something was nagging at him. He followed for a moment before stopping at the door. Karin sat up, groaning a bit. Waiting for the door to close he reared on Karin swiftly. Startling the floored kunoichi. "Karin." he began, feeling his conviction harden. He was shaking with rage. Hinata's meditation did wonders sometimes. He swallowed, glaring at her. "Do you know why you are going to die old and alone?" he asked coldly. Her eyes which were now devoid of glasses just stared up at him in surprise. "It's not because the world is out to get you." he said. "It's because you are creepy, disturbing, selfish, bitchy, unprincipled, loud, obnoxious, unfeeling, bitter, cold, jealous, and cruel. You are a disgusting person Karin, and I hate to say it. Aren't you embarrassed? What is wrong with you? You honestly think you had any right talking to Hinata or Sakura-san the way you did? After all of the things you've done, or stood by and allowed in your life? You were in charge of the prisons. What was it like to hear the screams of people like me? Begging the cruel medics to stop, slowly losing their minds the way I did. I can't stand it. How about standing by as your village was massacred? As for Sasuke-san. Leave him alone. He is trying to be happy, and someone like you could never provide that for him. His team is what he needs. Someone like Sasuke-san should be with someone who is patient and understanding of what he needs. Not an obsessed clingy girl. Sakura-san is good for him. You don't even hold a candle to Hinata's glow. You should be grateful you are still alive like the rest of us and grow up!? If you don't…reap what you sow then, because I hate people like you too." and with that he exited the room.

After a moment of silence as the red-haired kunoichi sat abandoned in the laboratory she realized that the harsh words of the gentle giant rang true. With that Karin hugged her knees and cried.

The forbidden jutsu was successful. The nameless shinobi lurked in yet another hiding place of his. The suspicion would pass. He knew that Uchiha had noticed. The ever observant Uchiha had been bound to find some trace of his presence left behind. The Hokage of course noticed the changes in her student's muscle movement. Nothing too bad as long as he lied low for a while. At least he had the hang of the jutsu. Once opportunity allowed for it he could test it out. For now, he would just leave pinky to her own devices. Nobody had tuned in on him for a while. Good. He could not afford to have a shadow. He'd had a close call that night. With that shadow nin, he found his name was Nara Shikamaru. He had come very close to discovering him, and he barely escaped. Damn leaf-nin and their observance. The second time it was a sharp toothed guy with a dog. Things were getting tight here. The more he waited the more he was risking being found.

Still though…if push came to shove, he might just have to take the package deal and forget about the research. Better to make it in missing arm than not make it in at all. He would make one simple attempt and if that did not work. He would go for it. At the proper moment that was. Chances are he would not come willingly. Persuasion would be needed. What kind of possible persuasion would work though?

* * *

Author's Note: Okay! Once again I say 'phew!' I hope you guys are still enjoying this. This chapter took a toll on me. Then again I have like three unfinished stories that I'm working on lol. Anyways, reviews! Get me my reviews! I need my reviews! Blaaahhh!!!! …Ahem…Karin really took a beating in this chapter huh? Lolerz. In any case, they are closer to finding a cure for Juugo! YAY! Plus in the next chapter we will get to see Shika and Temari's wedding, and we shall see what happened with Hinata and the others after her explosion. Ciao yall! And once again. REVIEW!!!


	18. Coming Together

Author's Note: Crazy in Love…Alrighty it has taken me quite a while to get to this so here it goes. We shall see more of what happened with Hinata, Juugo, Neji, and the others after the huge blow out in the lab. What exactly is mister baddie after? Hmmmm. We shall see. Let us move on! Al Attacke! Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Just my plot lol. No legal problems yet. Nothing to declare. Let us read shall we?

**Chapter Seventeen: Coming Together**

Pearly white eyes regarded the ANBU captain's little cousin. No. Not as though he were looking at his leader, but at his little cousin, because she needed him to do that right now. There was a silence between them as he absorbed all of the information from the recent events that he had been kept out of.

Hinata's eyes were red rimmed from crying out all of her stress to him, her confession riddled with tears and stutters, and wringing hands. He had sent the other shinobi out of the room for him and his cousin to communicate heart to heart. Now he sat across a hospital room from his little cousin who was looking quite exhausted. "So is this why you let that woman's words get to you?" he inquired. That red-haired succubus's opinion was something laughable to him. Who cared what she thought of Hinata-sama? A softer, feminine version of his eyes gazed back at him. Hinata sniffed slightly. "It would n-not have upset me so much if it had just been her, but there are still others who say the same thing." she muttered tiredly. Neji couldn't help the slight smirk. Hinata had never attacked anybody before like that. Sure she had her explosions. Terrifying displays of wrath, but she had never struck anybody before. She had been apologizing to everybody profusely after he carried her out.

Yes, what she had done was very unprofessional, and perhaps juvenile. Still, there was no telling who was going to finally let that girl have it. He was pleased that Hinata had, had a hand in giving her a much needed reality check. Beneath the initial disapproval of his leader's lack of self control at least. "…and is it true?" he spoke up, still regarding her intently. Her gaze met his again. "N-no…no. No it's not." she shook her head firmly. Neji nodded.

"Then…why acknowledge a scorned harpy's nonsense talk?" he inquired. "Harsh biting words are all that she has, unlike you Hinata-sama, you who has the devotion of an entire clan, and close precious people. You are an accomplished leader and it will take more than her cheap, petty, words to down play that." he stated. Hinata nodded slowly.

He was right. Karin had such a sad existence. Why should her words get to her? Had she not proven herself worthy of her position to her clan? Yes. She had proved herself, and gone beyond their expectations. She was a competent kunoichi and a proficient leader in the politics of her family. The violet haired beauty had come a long way from the nervous shy child she once was. She was still quiet and shy by nature, but she had learned to channel that into a thoughtful silence that helped her to calculate decisions in more detail. Being silent always helped her to think more effectively. "You are right Neji." she told him. "Thank you for reminding me." she added in.

Still it was not over. What would he do with this knowledge she had give him? Would he tell the Hokage about Juugo's true condition now that he knew? She remained silent. He always seemed to be able to read her thoughts. The situation was not any different as they both stared into each other's eyes from where the other sat. She was waiting for him to say something about it. It was impending, she could feel that he was going to tell her something. If he did not she would bring it up herself. After a moment of silence she heard his voice.

"..Make quick work of this situation Hinata-sama." he stated. She narrowed her eyes only for a second before she understood. He was trusting in the solution she and Sakura had thought up. He was saying 'I will keep silent because I trust you, but do not force me to lie for too long.' Her face dropped in mild surprise. The always duty bound Neji was sticking a pin in the rule book. For her. Such an unexpected turn of events now that she thought about it, but…never had any surprise made Hyugga Hinata more happy.

She stared at him with glassy eyes. Not a word was spoken between them. Just a silent understanding. "I must meet with Ten-ten to spar, take care Hinata-sama." he told her, standing up. As he walked out of the room he was stopped by an unexpected embrace by slender arms. He looked down to see Hinata hugging him gratefully. "Thank you Neji-kun." she murmured. "Hm." he nodded, his arms subtly returning the hug. She smiled softly into his chest.

"I can't believe Neji kicked us out of the room!" Naruto huffed, gesturing wildly. Sasuke snorted. When did he become best friends with somebody so dense? This was not good for his reputation. Especially if his children made friends with that dobe's children. The Uchiha clan would be corrupted by idiot germs.

"Naruto." Sakura began. "Sometimes family members like to be by themselves to discuss certain important topics." she explained. The blond stared at her a bit clueless still. "Okay, remember how you, me, and Kakashi would talk about tracking down Sasuke?" she asked him patiently.

"Um…yeah?" he nodded. "Do you remember how we would prefer to be alone when discussing it?" she pressed. He thought for a moment. "…but Sakura-chan that was…oh." he finally nodded his understanding. Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes Naruto, it's the same basic principle." Sakura nodded. "I get it." the blond orange-clad shinobi was glaring at his so called best friend.

A certain ANBU was miserable with these people. They seemed intent on giving him the slip. Not to mention they argued about the most pointless things. Were they honestly supposed to be the highest esteemed names of Konoha? Uchiha Sasuke himself even indulged in pointless banter with that Kyubbi vessel (the rumors were true, he was _STUPID!_). The apprentice of the Hokage was a violent, emotional, little girl. Hyugga Hinata was very premature in leadership, and she seemed to be lacking in self control…even though he had been many a time _very _tempted to do that to this Karin woman often enough.

"Hey, shouldn't that guy be watching Karin?" Naruto blatantly pointed at him. "Naruto that's rude." Sakura twitched.

"If I am not mistaken we are going back to the lab, where she is." the irritated officer muttered. If he was not wearing his mask they would have seen the death glare from hell.

Juugo was silent as ever, walking beside them. He had been the most reluctant to leave the room, but he did not want to cause problems. He had never seen Hinata cry before, never mind like that. It was a horrible feeling. It just felt so wrong to leave, but she was with her cousin. He would make her feel better. So he left without a word, along with the others. He did not regret a word of what he said to Karin. He had learned that sometimes the truth was harsh and hurtful but it was inevitable, and sometimes people needed to be faced with reality if they ever even were to have hope of changing.

They entered the lab to see that Karin was still there. She was curling a strand of red hair around her fingers, one arm hugging her knees. "Karin." Sasuke addressed. "Hey." she greeted quietly. She looked like a mess after her encounter with Hinatazilla. It was also apparent that she had been crying for a while. Sakura wordlessly held out a box of tissues. Garent eyes stared up at her for a moment before reluctantly taking it and huffing an acceptance. "I want to talk to you. Girl to girl." she told the pinkette. "Um…yeah sure." Sakura was a bit surprised. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged curious glances. "Alone." the former Sound kunoichi added in, looking at the men in the room.

Sasuke raised a brow suspiciously. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Sakura's hand. With a frustrated grunt the ANBU captain got the picture and began to leave the room. The rosette's male team-mates both stared at her questioningly, but she nodded for them to follow his example. They did so, Juugo following anywhere the Uchiha was going to be. All of this tension today was too much for him. Having the Sharingan nearby was something reassuring. "WHY DOES EVERYBODY WANT TO TALK ALONE TODAY!" Naruto stormed out. "Stop shouting, dobe." Sasuke muttered.

With that, the two women were alone. "So, what did you have to say to me?" Sakura asked, calmly. Karin sat forward Indian style. She cleared her throat a bit. "Firstly, let me just start off with a confession." she began. "Yes, I am obsessive about things, and yes I have been a coward for the majority of my life when I think about it enough." she stated. "My obsession with Sasuke-kun goes way back, but that is a long story." she said, blowing her nose. "The bottom line is that I was being extremely bitchy earlier, I know he doesn't like me but I can't help it. Juugo told me something when you guys left. I wont go into details." Karin sighed.

Sakura listened intently, was Karin actually trying to make amends? She nodded her understanding. Karin pursed her lips in thought as if trying to word her feelings properly. "He was right though. I already knew it all along too, but hearing it all come from him…it was like…well frankly it was like having your finger chomped off by a marshmallow bunny." the red-head stated. Sakura let out a soft laugh, earning a small smile from the other girl. "The thing is, earlier I was just being contrary for the sake of it because…and here comes the major confession…I was jealous." she let out a long sigh, pulling at her own hair.

Green eyes widened, she was admitting to this? "You…he likes you, he really, really likes you, wheelchair or not, and you are smart and easy on the eyes so I was threatened, but at the end of the day you are better for him, I'm just not….compatible." she confessed. Sakura stared at her expecting a "not!" or something to follow. What could she say to her that would be appropriate? 'Good game?' Uh…no. So…what now? "You don't have to worry about me bugging him anymore…kay?" she was staring at the floor, obviously taking a huge blow to her pride with this. Sakura smiled a bit. Feeling awkward. She nodded at the other kunoichi. "Um…truce then?" she asked. Karin rolled her eyes before nodding. "Yeah, truce."

They both sat in silence. Karin felt as though she needed to make amends as best she could if she expected to start growing into her own person. She had an idea of how she could be of help. She was a chakra specialist too after all, but unlike Sakura she could feel somebody's chakra in precise detail. "Look about the chakra transfusion thing…it's a good idea, but you're right Sasuke-kun is not a good candidate, not only because of the curse seal, but his chakra is too dark to fit with Juugo's more placid one." she told her. "His system would reject it." she explained. Sakura was listening intently.

"That wont be easy." she sighed. "I don't think we will find many people willing to donate chakra to Juugo-kun." her fingers ran through her bubble gum locks. "Let alone somebody compatible."

"You're in luck." Karin assured. "Hyugga Hinata is perfect." she stated. "Eh?" now Sakura was very interested. "The two of them are extremely gentle souls, very demure, polite, shy, naturally this makes their chakra signatures extremely close." Karin told her. Now Sakura could smile for real. She could come to like Karin in time she supposed. "Thank you Karin." she nodded. "I guess that means you're in." she chuckled. "Yup. Looks like it." Karin said dryly. "Let's get the boys back in here, they must be dying out there." the rosette smiled brightly. Karin thought to herself that she would have to get used to this happy, bright stuff.

"Why are you guys standing out here?" Hinata asked as she came down to the lab. She was feeling much better after talking to Neji earlier. Sasuke shrugged, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall. He and the ANBU having a dark staring contest. Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Hi, Hinata-chan…um…Sakura-chan and Karin sent us out so they could talk alone." he explained. Hinata frowned. After what had just happened? It seemed so strange.

"Are you okay now?" Juugo asked softly from where he stood. "Yes I'm fine, Juugo-kun." she nodded with a small smile. It was still embarrassing to think back on her explosion like that. She noticed the ANBU mask now facing her. Stoically silent was the officer, but his attention did not seem to be very approving. She frowned at him at fell in between Juugo and Sasuke. There was a scoff and a short silence.

"Guys?" Sakura wheeled out, Karin stood behind her with her arms folded. She was adjusting her glasses and not making eye contact with anybody. "Oh. Hello Hinata." the pink haired medic greeted her friend. She deemed it best to act as if nothing happened. "You guys can come back in now." she added to everybody before wheeling around. Sasuke entered, giving Karin an impassive, but wary look. The red-head hugged herself tighter but said nothing. "I am assuming that we can actually get some work done now, yes?" the stressed officer among the group inquired. He needed to have at least something to report, lest he be deemed incompetent by the council. There was a silence as if the group was contemplating something. "Yes." Hinata said with a calm poker face.

In all actuality, they were trying to find a way to perform a few tasks without giving too much information to this man. This tag along was really a nuisance. They wished it were Sai or Neji observing them. If only they could get him out of the room for just a few minutes to brief everybody. Especially Naruto. He would need details. "So who do you think would be suitable for the chakra transfusions?" the Hyugga heiress spread a file of shinobi over the counter. "I doubt any of them would be willing." Sasuke stated, ever the cynic of the group. Well at least he kept their feet on the ground.

Just as the ANBU opened his mouth to speak (probably start bombarding them with questions) somebody spoke up.

"Hey you!"

They turned to see Karin staring the ANBU down. He looked at her. "Are you addressing me?" he asked. "No dumb ass, the pink elephant on your head, yes you." she huffed sarcastically. He folded his arms and regarded her silently as if telling her to continue. "Take me to the bathroom now. I gotta pee." she stated bluntly. He stared at her in silence…and a little bit of horror at the sheer honesty. Too. Much. Information. Why did Kami hate him so much? Had he not lived a good life? He should have taken over the family shop. At his long silence Naruto was holding back loud snickers and Sakura was trying not to grin too wide.

"I beg your pardon but I don't think it was…" he trailed, stopping himself. He did not need to discuss this. "Can't it wait?" he asked, impassive once again. She stomped over to him. "Listen bub, I'm menstrual and if you don't mind cleaning up stains from dirty laundry, then sure it can wait otherwise, lets go, chop-chop!" he poked his chest roughly. They looked on in disbelief.

Sakura allowed herself a lop-sided smile. She could see what Karin was doing. It was genius. The ANBU gave a grimace behind his mask. Once again. Too. Much. Information. "…_Fine._" he managed. "This way." he motioned for her to follow him. Karin sent the pinkette a wink and mouthed "Go for it." before exiting the lab on her parole officer's heels. Sasuke's all seeing eyes noticed this. Had the two kunoichi come to an agreement? It seemed like it. Hinata noticed too and exchanged a surprised glance with Naruto and Juugo. Sakura nodded secretively.

As soon as the door was shut she turned to the others. "Okay we have to talk." Sakura stated. "What did you do?" Sasuke asked. "Nothing, and we don't have time to discuss that. Karin can only stall for so long so here we go." she neatly put away all the files of faces in Konoha. "Karin has pointed out something very valid to me, not only do we have to find somebody willing to donate plain chakra cells to Juugo, but their chakra signatures have to match for the most part, otherwise they will be rejected." she informed. "Aww crap." Naruto muttered. Things just got harder, again. The look in Sakura's eyes however told them there was a chance. "What is the plan?" Juugo asked softly. They noticed Sakura staring at Hinata and Hinata staring back in silent understanding. She was the best match. "Hinata…" she trailed, ready to ask officially. The Hyugga heiress could only think of one answer to this question.

"I will do it."

Sakura nodded her respect to her. This would be an exhausting process, and very meticulous. Hinata was a determined and strong woman now. She knew what this decision entitled. This proved that her resolve to help Juugo was a deep and profound one. Sakura was proud to call her one of her best friends. Over her shoulder just the though, she noticed Juugo tense up with surprise. Her curiosity peaked at his expression. It seemed that there seemed to be more to Juugo's thoughts than just thankfulness. The pinkette shook it off. "Excellent." she nodded to her.

Suigetsu had to admit…he looked good. Ino certainly did know how to deck people out in style for these things. He had checked himself out in the mirror before they set out, much to Ino's chagrin since she wanted the mirror. Eventually she just used those hips of hers to bump him out of her way. Such a diva. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it. She did not look too bad herself….okay so she looked as gorgeous and unreachable as ever but give the man his dignity. People were a bit off put when they recognized an S-ranked missing nin at a Konoha wedding but a stern look from Temari made them wise enough to shut up. She would not have her wedding ruined by these people. She had wanted Ino to be there bad enough for her to tolerate his presence…and force others to do so as well. Though Shikamaru was mostly docile about everything, he had wanted his female team-mate there at his wedding just as much if not more. It would just not have been the same without her loud voice and big smiles.

So there they were. The not-quite-dates in the invited bunch. Through the ceremony Ino wore the most beautiful smile. Still knowing violet eyes could see that this was not her real smile. He had come to decipher her smiles and expressions. His favorite smiles were the spontaneous real ones, the ones that she made when he actually managed to make her laugh or when she just came back from a shopping spree. That smile…the one she wore now that is just did not measure up. She was unhappy. Just as she thought she would be, even if she was putting on a spectacular show.

The former mist nin then took it upon himself to change that. He was officially here to make sure his parole officer, Ino had a good time. He usually was not so charitable but he just could not stand to hear her dry, strained, laughter anymore. He surveyed the guests, starting to feel bored. He labeled a few of them in his mind as he went. 'Loser…Stick…Prick…Loser…Nerd…Jock…Meat head…Freak…Snob…hmm not bad, pretty cute…Ass hole…Whoa! Major _whore _alert…slutty radar going off the charts! Anyways…Jack off…Geek…that fat ass who kicked me…wait…is that the _KAZEKAGE! _Whoo boy now _him_ I can respect.' his thoughts were now mildly entertained by the presence of Sabuku no Gaara.

Jade eyes suddenly met his gaze and he played off his surprise with a toothy grin and a nod in the Kazekage's direction.

Gaara simply narrowed his eyes at the face he had seen in the bingo books many times…here…at his sister's wedding. Did Yamanaka not have any other solution? Could not anybody else have been watching him? Nothing too unsavory was going on he hoped, at least not here. This specific event was not to be…his train of thought was interrupted when the mist nin leered and leaned over to say something to the blond kunoichi as she acknowledged him with a strained calm, pushing him back by the face. Now that was something. So the prisoner was more trouble than he was worth? Why did she not assign him to another? Possibly to prove herself capable. She did seem to be having trouble being taken seriously, just as Shikamaru had once told him. He certainly hoped that was the case.

Suigetsu had been acting like a clown ever since the reception started. Ino rolled her eyes. What had she expected from him? He could only behave completely for so long after all. Especially after Shikamaru came over and started chatting with her for a while. She decided to be content that at least this one had been a new record for him. "Hey what's with these table ornaments?" He picked up a bride from the table cloth. "They're cute." Ino shrugged. "So many brides…hey this one looks like you." he picked up a blond one with a ponytail and folded arms. "You are worse than a five year old. Put those down." she muttered. He stuck his tongue out at her. "This one has pink hair…are they modeling them after you guys or something?" he inquired casually. "Yeah." she admitted. "There should be a Hinata one somewhere."

Suigetsu nodded. "Too bad they don't got any groom that looks like me." he grinned. "That's all the better." Ino dryly smirked. "Besides, I highly doubt they would model it after a face from the bingo book if anything." she added. He scoffed. "Nah…if anything here were to symbolize me in anyway it would be…this." he picked up a random puppy. "Ha you are the farthest thing from a cute, cuddly, puppy besides…I would picture you more as a goldfish." she chuckled. "Hey! I'm so much more fun than a goldfish." he pointed one of the forks at her.

"Watch it with that." she warned him. "Most of the guests here are set on lynching you if you so much as do something that even _looks_ threatening…like pointing something sharp at your parole officer." she pushed his arm down. He stared blankly at the blond. "You people aren't as trusting as I thought." he stated. "Well what can you do." she drawled. "I'm getting bored…and you know that's a bad thing." he randomly stated with a toothy grin. "You embarrass me and I will kill you, slowly." she promised. He placed a small veil on top of his head and picked up a mini top hat and placed it on her's. She smacked away his hand and put it back down. "You're being very touchy." he commented. "Bad mood?"

The blond huffed. Their plates were placed in front of them. Suigetsu stared at his food. "They did this on purpose didn't they?" he dead-panned. Sure enough there was a roasted and well seasoned red snapper in front of him. Ino looked and began to crack up. "I bet it was Chouji." she said through her silent cackles.

"Hahahahaha. Oh my gut is going to bust." he rolled his eyes, tone dripping with sarcasm as he pushed away the plate with a frown. Ino shook her head. Suigestu's eyes lit up as though he had just gotten the best idea in the world as he stared over at Shikamaru's table. "What are you thinking?" Ino asked defensively. He shook his head innocently. "Hey Ino!" Chouji squeezed between her and the mist nin. "I hope you like red velvet cake, filled with chocolate gnash!" he elbowed her playfully. "I know I certainly can't wait for _my_ slice!" the pudgey leaf nin was beaming. Suigetsu felt the biting words kicking and screaming to come out but refrained. Instead he turned to face that…Nara guy's table.

He took a cherry tomato from his salad and placed it on a fork. "What do think you're doing flipper?" Ino glared at him. He gave a cheery smile before flicking the tomato at a certain lazy shadow nin. Ino gaped as it smacked into her team-mates wine glass. 'Score!' Suigetsu patted himself on the back. With a frown Shikamaru turned to look. Apparently he believed Chouji to be the culprit and gave his team-mate a dirty look. Chouji was about to shake his head 'no' but he could not help but grin a little bit…his face was too funny after all. Temari stopped Shikamaru from throwing a piece of bell pepper at his team-mate.

"Stop throwing food." Ino hissed at Suigetsu over Chouji's shoulder. "Chouji would you please let me sit next to the two year old sardine over there? Apparently he needs to be baby sat." she muttered standing up. Reluctantly Chouji slid over glaring at the missing nin who was giving him a smug look. Well this was an awkward situation. Suigetsu reached over and began to play with the dead fish on his plate. Picking it up slightly he moved it's mouth open and closed, making it sing Under the Sea. "Ew your getting it's juices all over your fingers." she shook her head with a small smile. He shrugged. "I've gotten worse on my fingers." was his casual reply.

"You pig!" she gaped at him. "Pardon me but I thought that was the meaning of _your_ name, not mine…anyways why am I a pig because I've gotten blood and gore on my hands? Maybe an ass wipe but a pig?" he seemed amused. Upon realization Ino slapped a hand to her forehead, blushing. She had just made herself the pervert. "Never mind." she muttered, snorting. She had to hand it to him, he had gotten her that time.

The cake was served, and boy was it tasty. Chouji was right. Ino was in heaven enough to ignore Suigetsu's antics and even laugh at many of them. Chouji was eventually stolen away by his date that he brought. "Damn, that fat bastard can talk up a storm can't he?" the silvery haired nin raised a brow after him. "Oh shut up, I talk a lot more than he does trust me." Ino retorted. "Yeah, but it's cute when _you_ do it…him? He's not cute, he can't pull it off." he stated, putting some gnash on her nose. She frowned half-heartedly. Ino truly did enjoy being flattered. She wiped her nose, and smashed him in the face with a handful of his own cake. Hey, there was no way she was wasting her's. "That's for calling me pig, when only forehead-girl is allowed." she told him sternly.

He stared at her. "Forehead?"

"None of your beeswax!" she told him. He blinked a few times. With the frosting and chocolate coating his face it looked too hilarious like two tiny holes. She could not help but snort and start laughing. "F-flipper you look ridiculous!" she covered her reddening face. He glared and some cake fell from between his eyes. She snorted again and laughed harder. He calmly wiped his face and grinned deviously. "Funny?" he asked. "Rich!" she responded. Without warning there was a handful of cake in her hair. She gasped sharply and everybody nearby froze expecting bloodshed. Instead she began to laugh again. "I'm so getting you back later." she shook her head at him. He knew he was dead later but at least he had made her happy for a while.

The rest of the day had gone really well. Ino was at least in a good humor for real this time. Now the couples were all dancing on the floor and she watched them with admiration. She gave a slightly melancholy smile. By now Suigetsu had toned it down. He was significantly tired of causing mischief. Instead he watched her face. There was nothing better to look at here anyway. She didn't seem to notice anyway. He could see that she was slowly but surely becoming upset again. She wanted to be a part of it. He scooted his chair a bit closer.

"They look great don't they?" he began casually. "Yeah." she nodded. A soft sigh escaped her lips. How to go about this? He began to think to himself. He could invite her to dance but would she want to? Probably not. Not with him anyway. Still it was worth a shot. "You like to dance don't you?" he asked knowingly. "Yes…I do." she admitted. People were dancing to a song called Amado Mio right then. "You wouldn't want to um…join me on the floor would you?" he asked. She gave him a stern look. "Woah! Not like that or anything! It's just…you looked kind of left out." he shrugged. "Do I look like I need your pity?" she narrowed her eyes defensively. 'Me pity _you_?' he thought to himself. 'Ha! Good one!'

"No." he stood up. "But honestly you look more to me like a girl who likes to be the center of action rather than an on looker…what do you say?" he held out his hand with a smile. Ino bit her lip. She really did want to dance, but nobody else seemed to be about to ask her. Finally with a sigh she down the glass of wine in her hand and placed it down on the table. "Make sure you keep your hands on neutral turf bub." she pointed at him before taking his hand and standing up. "Yes ma'am." he grinned to himself.

Just as they stepped onto the floor a certain song by Bryan Adams started to play. Oh this was just too awkward. Ino wanted to put a bag over her head. 'Have you ever really loved a woman' a slow song. They were a bit tense, trying to keep a good distance from each other. Each for different reasons of their own. People were giving them disapproving looks. Neither of them noticed though. Not even the eyes of the blond woman's team-mates who were not too happy about this. As the song progressed she had been getting closer to him.

Suigetsu wondered whether the wine was getting to her. It probably was. They moved together smoothly. It was when she placed her head into the crook of his neck that his eyes popped. Still though as the words of the song played in his head, and the vanilla sugar smell from her hair met his senses…he found himself considering things that had never crossed his mind seriously before. Whatever was going through _her_ mind, he didn't really mind it so much. He simply allowed himself a wide smile and mouthed a soundless '_Hell yeah!' _to himself. This wedding stuff had actually been quite fun at the end of the day.

* * *

Author's Note: The wedding scene didn't come out as I had planned sadly. It was a bit long too. Still it was pretty decent and I hope you guys liked it. Anyways next chapter we shall see more of mister baddie and his attempted assaults. Plus more Hinata and Juugo fluffy romance. Finally! Teehee! Karin is being her annoying self still xD…just now it's in their favor. I couldn't resist. As much as I dislike her, I thought I would make her actually a bit more normal in this story. Anyhoodles, review and make me happy! Tell me what yalls think!


	19. Scene of the Crime

**Author's Note: New Update! A team seven stake out! Woohoo! More baddie danger! Juugo and Hinata fluffiness xD! As for the rest…we shall see wont we? :D. Mucho grande love to all of my reviewers! I appreciate it! Not a very popular couple admittedly, but hey…it's new right? XD Anyway enjoy people! Read and Review! Go on, get out of here! **

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. Otherwise things would go a lot differently in the show, needless to say. Like I said shoo! Read! **

**Chapter Eighteen: Scene of the Crime**

"This is gonna be awesome!" Naruto cheered as he snatched a second bag of chips from the aisle. "Naruto this is not supposed to look like you're staying over night. Besides I have chips at my house." Sakura scolded. "Aww Sakura-chan…" the blond shinobi pouted. "Why are you such a dumb ass?" Sasuke glared over his shoulder at Naruto. "OI! SHUT UP TEME, YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A SPIKEY POLE UP MY ASS CRACK!" the future Hokage pointed a finger at his so called best friend. Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes, walking up ahead of them. Here they went again. Some things never did change did they?

...

What the hell were _they_ doing with her today! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! That damn pink haired girl was with her team-mates again. The unseen watcher bit his lip in frustration, drawing blood. They'd better not stay for too long, he could not stand anymore delays in his work. He needed that damned research and his employer was starting to breath down his neck again. The last thing he needed was to have the boss threatening to use his head as a garden ornament, again. He liked his head's original use honestly. These people sucked. Whoever had been tuning in on him was starting to feel for him now whenever they felt him. He needed to be out of here by three days tops.

These had to be the most idiotic looking bunch of ninjas he'd ever observed. Uzumaki…well it was obvious he had to have the I.Q. of a toe nail. As for the Uchiha…was he not supposed to be a cold, ruthless killer? That is, according to the stories he had heard of him. There he was though, engaging in the most stupid argument in the history of shinobi kind. Tomatoes and ramen! Are you fucking joking! Then there was his target for tonight, Haruno Sakura. Some chakra specialist she was, couldn't she tell he was watching them? Then again he had plenty of special techniques for that. Otherwise he would not be observing so closely.

They were grocery shopping for what seemed like some sort of get together. Ugh. This was a colossal waste of time! Since when did the Uchiha partake in pointless social gatherings? Since Princess Bubbleyum decided to have one apparently. Soft bastard. These people were turning that guy into a marshmallow like them already. He shivered at the thought. Leaf nin. It figured they were contagious. All of them were such sentimental, mushy gushy, stubborn, idiots with hearts made out of marshmallow cream. It would be their downfall. He was done here. He would go to the medic's house later. The Hyugga woman was due for some observation, he would be extra cautious considering she could see through walls. Off he went.

...

"Are we going to do this all day?" Ten-ten asked, bored out of her mind. Neji sat under a tree silently, in a meditative pose, practicing his byakkugan. "Ten-ten, it was you who decided that you would stalk me today…if you have a problem go run laps with Lee." the proud Hyugga murmured simply. The weapons mistress rolled her eyes. Neji really needed some help with how to spent his spare time. Training seemed to be all her two team-mates ever did. Plus she normally spent her free time with the girls but it seemed that each one of them was busy with something.

"I was not aware that your recreational life was this neglected." she responded. Neji turned his pearly eyes to her direction. Why did she insist in making her own 'improvements' on his lifestyle? Honestly it was ridiculous. Was it a female trait to worry so much about mental health and otherwise? A certain clan leader scolded him for over working all the time as well. Ten-ten was meeting his annoyed gaze unwaveringly, arms folded, legs planted challengingly. Honestly she knew him too well, to be this un-intimidated by his cold narrowed gaze. Then again Ten-ten had always been a stout, bold girl who refused to be intimidated. His female team-mate was truly something to be respected. Finally his stare relented and he looked ahead again.

"You are beginning sound like Hinata, only much more critical…and loud." he dead-panned. He began to activate his bloodline limit again. She smiled and let out a short laugh. Neji was just well…Neji. It was nice to hear about Hinata from him. The blossomed relationship between him and his cousin warmed her heart. She had watched it develop from afar…and it showed a sweet side of Neji that she was afraid only her, Gai-sensei, and Lee might ever see.

"Well I'm taking that as a compliment." she chuckled, sitting across from his Indian style. Neji could not help the small smirk that tugged at his lips despite his irritation. He had faired fine his entire life, working as hard as he did. Training always paid off, and it helped him get his thoughts into order. Being idle was too chaotic for him. If that made any sense. Her dark eyes were dancing with amusement which meant she would probably start annoying him for real very soon. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. Hyugga Neji did not sigh.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her. Might as well get it over with. Dragging it on would just be pure torture with this girl. Yes she seemed to delight in tormenting him lately. She gave him an innocent smile at his question. Oh please. Cue eye roll.

"What do you mean Neji?" she asked sweetly. He snorted and was about to reply with a sarcastic remark, until his Byakuggan picked up on something over her shoulder and in the distance. His face dropped a bit and he frowned. What was that? It seemed to be the silhouette of a person. People took leisurely walks all the time so any other day he would have over looked the observation. This was different however. He barely noticed this shape with his Byakkugan…was somebody trying out a new jutsu? He frowned. He could not see the points of their chakra either. He was not one to jump to conclusions but something in his gut was telling him that this being was a hostile one. In the sneaky way it moved about, seeming not to notice him or his team-mate.

Meanwhile Ten-ten noticed the look in his eye and looked over her shoulder. She saw nothing and turned back to him. "Neji?" she asked. "What's wrong? What is it?" Neji was not one who was easily phased by something, or anything for that matter. What was it that was catching his attention like this? She frowned. "Ten-ten…move aside." he crouched forward narrowing his eyes for a better look at whatever it was. Curse him and his awesome eyes. They both stood up. He motioned her behind him and he slowly crept forward. Ugh. Still subconsciously chauvinistic as ever. She placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes but listened none the less considering he was the only one here who could see this apparent threat.

"Will you please tell me what's happening?" she whispered harshly. "Be ready for anything." he said even over his shoulder as he masked his chakra. Ten-ten did the same, reaching for her weapons. She looked back at him. "Are we following somebody?" she inquired.

"Shhh." he shushed as he nodded a confirmation. "You go that way, make sure you conceal yourself approximately six yards in that direction." he motioned with his hand. Well now…maybe he was not being as chauvinist as she thought. Then again he had worked on the battle field often enough with her to be aware of her usefulness. "Hopefully I can expose this…person, and we can head them off." he told her. Whoever it was, they were hopping branches and were unaware of their presence.

"If I can't see them how is that possible?" she frowned. Once again curse his eyes. Neji looked over at her. He had almost forgotten that he was not with Hinata-sama. Had he really spent so much time at work? Perhaps that was why the brunette girl had decided to tag along whether he liked it or not today. He after all, had spent very little time with his childhood friends. Lee and Ten-ten. Much of his time was in Hinata-sama's presence. Or out training.

They remained concealed by brush. "I apologize." he was mortified by his lack of thought. "Just make sure to be on defense. I'm going after…him." he guessed it was male. The silhouette certainly looked male. Neji continued to pursue his newly found target. He remained back and followed him from below. As long as he kept moving the Hyugga could see him. This person's chakra was well disguised, he could not feel it at all in fact. There was a brief pause and Neji hung back immediately.

The figure stood still for a moment, and Neji lost sight of him. He internally cursed. Meanwhile Ten-ten, who had been following him a distance behind put two and two together and did the same.

There was nothing for a while. Neji had his eyes narrowed in concentration. Still…nothing seemed like anything was going to happen…and nothing did. Slowly, Neji took a step back. His shoulders reluctantly relaxed. Just as he did so however there was a whoosh of air as he found himself barely avoiding darts of some kind. Well it was official that this was not a leaf nin. He began to move back avoiding another wave. "Ten-ten!" he shouted to get her attention. "Ten-ten get back!" he warned. As he said this she looked at him and was distracted. He spied the same form he had been following charging directly at her. Pearl eyes widened as a sharp and sudden horror assaulted him.

"TEN-TEN! YOUR LEFT!" his shout came out hoarse and urgently.

Fortunately she heeded his voice. With lightening fast reflexes, she leapt away from her previous spot sending her favorite weapon hurtling to her left. Neji leapt in his direction. He brought up his hands. "Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-eight Palms." he wanted to put this guy's chakra out of use, considering it was probably the only thing keeping him invisible. At this he heard a low "Fffffuck!" from his opponent.

….

The technique was unmistakable. He was not fighting just any Hyugga shinobi. This was Hyugga Neji. If he did not think of something quick…he was busted. Plus his chakra would be useless and he would be captured. His main priority was to escape. He was skillfully avoiding the leaf nin as he wracked his brain. The weak point in this fight was the kunoichi. It was obvious that she was a worthy opponent, but what good was that if she could not see him? She would have to be his target. Formulating a quick long shot attempt he made his move.

…

The unseen foe whirled away from Neji's skilled attacks. Ten-ten was watching her team-mate weave about with what seemed like nobody. He looked like a spastic, paranoid animal. She wanted to help him, but damn it how was that possible if she couldn't even see the bastard! She pursed her lips, glaring at the fight.

"Ten-ten, get out of here!" Neji finally commanded. She glared at him.

"Neji! You can't do this alone! I'm getting Hinata!" she yelled back at him, determined to find somebody who could help Neji effectively.

"No!" he snapped before she could run off. "Leave her out of this!" Neji was always to protective of Hinata. Well for once he was going to have to let her save his butt, not the other way around. Chocolate brown eyes narrowed challengingly. Before she could speak, Neji's eyes popped again and next thing she knew he was tackling her onto the ground. The kunoichi let out a cry of surprise. His hair blocking her view properly as he rolled them out of the way. He sat up looking around. His breath labored. Nothing.

He was gone. Whoever it was, was gone. "Neji…" Ten-ten panted. "What happened?" she asked, staring up at him with concern. "D..darts…" he managed, he seemed to be trying to catch his breath. His expression seemed strange, crazed even. He forced himself to stand, a cold sweat on his face. Ten-ten stood up with him. "Neji-kun…are you okay?" she asked him, feeling his cheeks. He didn't answer. "Neji." she shook his shoulders firmly.

Without warning he doubled over and fell on top of her. She gasped. "Neji!" Her eyes quickly noted the single dart that managed to hit her team mate in the back of his neck. A sharp fear shot through her. "Neji! Neji look at me!" she held his face between her hands frantically. That was when his head dropped back and the convulsions began. Ten-ten screamed.

….

Hinata was sitting comfortably with Juugo. Things for the day were pretty much finished. Normally she should have left Juugo in his cell, but she had become too comfortable around him to worry too much. She would sit with him for a while and help him to meditate, then bring him back. Not a problem. Neji would be more than a little upset if he knew about this. Well…that was why she was not telling him.

So here they were. Holding hands under a tree once again. It was not as though she had not touched him like this before but she could not help but feel embarrassed still. Her face was all red. "Do you still feel it building up Juugo-kun?" she asked. He nodded. "But it's not as bad anymore." he opened his eyes to look at her. She was all red. It was probably all his fault. He should have paid more attention before he almost did….that. Now he felt heat rise into his own cheeks upon the realization that she…did not stop him either. They both looked away simultaneously. He coughed a bit. Yet neither of them could release the other's hands. Their hands were slightly damp from nervousness.

"W-well, that's good." Hinata perked, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. She was trying to imagine that it never happened. It was not working. The worst thing was that Juugo was far from clueless. He knew that she was blushing. It was all so embarrassing. "It's great progress, granted it can not stop…well…_it _from happening at all, it will help slow it down significantly." she smiled at him. "Every little bit helps." He still had the most contagious smile. It was more shy right now granted but…still it had it's unique effect on her. Yes she admitted that Juugo had an effect on her.

"Thank you again for your help Hinata-chan." he nodded politely. It was happening again. One of those moments of silence between them. The moments when he would feel a certain fluttering in his chest. She felt it too. She must have because she released his hands and tried to stand up. "A-ano…I think maybe we should-"

In her nervousness Hinata stumbled over her own feet as she hastily tried to stand up. A skilled kunoichi had just tripped over herself. Well wouldn't her family be pleased with her if they could see this. Before any reaction could come to either of them she had fallen onto Juugo's chest as he caught her instinctively, making sure she would not get hurt. They both froze. "Are you alright, Hinata-chan?" he breathed.

Soft lavender, pearl eyes looked up at him. His breath caught in his throat. He could not push the fact away. He was hopelessly harboring feelings for Hyugga Hinata, and it scared him. She bit her lip unconsciously which did not help him. "I'm sorry." she apologized. "I'm…fine…" her voice trailed off as she got lost in the missing nin's features. Before either of them knew it they were leaning into each other. She swallowed hard. They were getting closer. Again. This time she felt his breath brush her lips and could almost feel the phantom touch of his own. All logic was telling them to back away now but neither of them seemed to be able to. Suddenly…

The two ninja jumped back from each other at the sound of a chilling, blood curdling scream. In a flash they both ran to where the scream came from. The form of Ten-ten came running into the clearing where they were. On her back she was supporting another form. A person. The sight made Hinata's heart stop. Her eyes widening like never before. "Hinata! We have to get him to the hospital!" The brunette kunoichi was crying. Never before had Hinata ever seen Ten-ten cry. For anything. Hinata could only stare in disbelief. Neji. There he was. Her big cousin. His eyes were open wide yet vacant and distant. He was frothing at the mouth, making sickening gurgles and hiccupping sounds. It was terrifying.

Juugo acted by quickly taking him from the bun haired girl who seemed a bit reluctant to let him go. "Neji…" Hinata breathed. She had never seen him so helpless. He had always been her fortress. Her breathing began to quicken and she was hyperventilating. "Get him to the hospital! Please let's hurry!" she gasped out.

"Hinata-chan, are you okay?" Juugo asked.

"Don't worry about me! Let's just go!" and they all ran.

…..

It was late at Sakura's house. The members of team seven were figuring out how to make it look like Sakura was alone. Sakura had told them that they were being observed, but she could not tell from where. Naturally who ever it was would have seen that Sasuke and Naruto had entered her house. So what now? They had to stage this so that it really looked like Sasuke and Naruto had left her alone for the night.

"We could do a replacement jutsu…or use my clones!" Naruto stated. They were seated in her living room munching on chips and whatever other snacks they had brought with them. Sakura had forbidden Naruto from making any ramen until dinner time. So he was gorging himself on whatever else he could find. It was sad to look at honestly. She shook her head. "This guy has to be a chakra specialist the way he manipulates his presence." she murmured aloud. "He uses senbon…so it's possible that he's a medic although I wont make any assumptions on that." She munched on an apple. "A simple clone jutsu could be seen through by him easily."

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke proposed silently.

"Hmmm…" she considered it. "It would be a long shot." she admitted. "..but maybe if we could combine the two ideas somehow…" she trailed off. The crunching in the background was getting on her nerves. "Kami Naruto! Fine! Just go make some ramen! Go!" she pointed to the kitchen abruptly, massaging her temple with her other hand. He responded with an enthusiastic smile.

"REALLY! Thank you Sakura-chan, my beautiful, understanding, all knowing, team mate!" he hugged her tightly. "Get off you're crushing me!" she pushed him. He bounded into the kitchen, humming a cheerful tune. Green eyes rolled. "And don't you dare make a mess!" she warned after him.

There was a comfortable silence between her and Sasuke. "So about the combination…I have a few thoughts on how to make it work." she began, tapping her lips with her finger in thought.

"How much can you move your legs?" he asked. Sakura stared at him in puzzlement for a moment, but brushed it off and gave a smile. "I can lift them a little…and of course I've gained movement in my toes." she giggled childishly, wiggling her toes in front of her. The Uchiha scoffed and rolled his eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him. A crash sounded from the kitchen. The pinkette twitched. "I'm going to kill him…" she growled, wheeling into the kitchen. Sasuke made no move to help his team-mate. No. Not even a warning. This was going to be a long stake out so he might as well enjoy any source of entertainment he could get.

….

"So we're clear?" Sakura asked for confirmation. Sasuke nodded and Naruto gave a thumbs up. There was a knock. Oh boy. Who could be here at this hour? "I'll get it." Sakura wheeled herself to the door. Still her team-mates followed her. She opened the door and smiled into the dark at who she saw.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she pulled her ex-sensei in by the wrist and slammed the door carelessly behind her. He looked surprised for a moment. "Um…Sakura…you realize that you just bashed the door into Sai's face right?" he asked casually. Her eyes popped. "AHAHAHA! Good job Sakura-chan! You just made my night!" Naruto held his gut. Sasuke smirked a bit. Sakura opened the door to see Sai holding his nose. She covered her mouth, over come with guilt at not noticing him there. "Oh Sai!" she yelped. "I am so, so sorry! Here come in let me have a look." she led him into the bathroom. "You guys are back early." she smiled apologetically. "The mission was easier than was anticipated." Sai explained. His head still held back. The bathroom door was closed behind them. The three original male members of team seven stood together in silence. Naruto still snickering. It served Sai right for calling him dickless all the time.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, getting to the point. This might turn out to be a setback if they stayed for too long.

"Neji has been hospitalized." Kakashi informed gravely.

"He what!" Sakura burst from the bathroom. "When! Why didn't anybody come to tell me! I have to go look at him!" she began to wheel for the door. Kakashi set his foot down in front of her to stop her. She looked at him.

"Don't bother." he shook his head calmly. "He was already taken care of by Tsunade-sama." he informed with assurance. Sakura let out a breath and ran a hand through her pink locks. "According to Ten-ten the two of them had been attacked." he explained. "So…is he alright?" she asked hesitantly. "We will see in the morning." he told her honestly. The medic nin nodded with understanding.

"That's terrible!" Naruto shouted, outraged. "Wait until I get my hands on the bastard who's responsible for all of this!" his voice boomed. Sasuke was simply silent as usual, though the gears in his mind were working. "We are hoping he will return to the scene of the crime tonight." he spoke up. "You are interrupting our stake out." his face betrayed no emotion. "I was told to join you guys. Sai came along for the ride." Kakashi responded simply. "This is great!" Sakura smiled cheerily. "Now the entire team is here!" she clapped. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You should start your genjutsu now." he told her.

"Right…okay then." she calmed down, still pleased.

…..

Kami they were still there! Ugh! This was ridiculous. There were four of them now. Fricken four! What was this a gang bang! He needed to do this tonight. That close call he had back there was making him jumpy now and just plain anxious to finish this mission already. Just when he thought he would be there forever…the door opened. He narrowed his eyes and watched.

"Thanks for coming guys." The familiar sound of the medic's voice sounded. "I really needed that pick me up." she was smiling as four men filed out of her house. He rolled his eyes. Sappy idiots.

"Not a problem Sakura-chan!" the Uzumaki kid cheered giving two thumbs up. They continued to exchange mind numbing pleasantries before they finally headed out. Thank. Kami. His eyes practically rolled back with relief. Now he would wait for her to go to bed. He crept down from his hiding spot and waited in the same tree that allowed him to see her room.

…

Sakura laid down in bed. Sasuke was a well hidden figure in the shadows. Sai was just outside of her room. Naruto was across the room from the Uchiha. Kakashi was out in the living room. It felt way too awkward, but it was necessary she guessed. After a while of tossing around she was finally able to start drifting away. Pretty soon Haruno Sakura was officially dead to the world. Her two team-mates exchanged glances as they confirmed that she was sleeping officially.

…..

Meanwhile the nameless shinobi outside of her window smirked. "Finally." he whispered to himself and made the hand signs. It was time to do this again. Everything was ready.

…..

Sharingan eyes snapped open at the sound of stirring on Sakura's bed. Naruto was half asleep but slowly noticed it too. She sat up. "Sakura-chan?" the kyubbi vessel whispered. She didn't answer him. Instead her legs swung out of bed. They both looked on in surprise. Naruto moved to stop her, only to have Sasuke beside him in a flash holding his shoulder. He watched her movements with narrowed eyes. Activating his Sharingan, he noticed that something was off with her chakra. She stood up and both shinobi's breaths caught. She began to walk off as if naturally.

"We follow her." Sasuke nodded to Naruto who nodded back in agreement. She opened the door and Sai seemed genuinely surprised. She walked past him as he stared. Sasuke and Naruto stopped him from reacting and motioned for him to follow with them. Kakashi did not seem perturbed, he simply remained in his seat. "You follow her boys." he whispered. "I'll stay here as a precaution." he ordered them. Ah it was just like old time. The scene of the crime. Heh. They always return to the scene of the crime. The pink haired kunoichi exited the house and began to walk away. Sasuke could move at the speed of sound and was thus able to follow her without being seen. Sai and Naruto exited through the back. So it began.

* * *

Author's Note: I was hoping to put more Hinata and Juugo in this. T_T. I needed a few fillers though sadly. Again I'm super sorry it took me so long to update. I was severely lacking inspiration. Hopefully you liked it though. Keep reviewing! It gives me the will to strive onward! *raises fist in dramatic appeal* Please? Anywayz I am happy people enjoyed it so far. Ciao!


	20. Things are Unraveling Fast

Author's Note: Okies so now we shall see more of this loathed mystery ninja. How shall the gang cope? What exactly is he attempting to accomplish with Sakura? Can Juugo help our little Hinata-chan cope with the condition of her big cousin? Okay let's read and find out. Oh and remember to tell me what yall think! XD.

Disclaimer: Once again I do not own the Naruto world or it's characters. Even if that would be hilariously fun. One new chapter coming up.

**Chapter Nineteen: Things are Unraveling Fast**

This was going very well so far. He was significantly better at handling the pinkette than he was the last time. The nameless shinobi held out what appeared to be a folder in front of his eyes for a good look. "Hmm." he studied the information. One of them was a blue print of the entire hospital. All of the security measures were circled. Oh yeah, he was that good. Internally he patted himself on the back for the info he had gathered for this escapade. The last time he had nothing to go on…but now he had everything he needed for the really big heist.

It appeared things would go even smoother this time. The Haruno medic moved like the perfect puppet. She seemed perfectly herself as she walked down the street toward the hospital. He had spent much of his time here observing her mannerisms and habits. He knew enough to put on a decent display for anybody who might see. The two Hyugga ninjas involved could possibly see through this charade but they were occupied in the upper floors of the hospital after his little close shave. They should not be a problem. The encounter had actually worked in his favor. Go figure.

He reached the hospital and made her place her hands on her hips casually. He smirked to himself from his perch hidden amongst the trees. The hand seals were extremely effective. After all he had come up with the system himself with all the time he had. Perfectly orchestrated. His golden bright eyes watched her make her way to the entrance. He had made it. He was going to be in at any moment.

Just as he allowed himself to become giddy. Something felt really hot. His eyes popped as an orange glow began to zero in on him.

"SHIT!" He dropped down from the branches barely avoiding the raging ball of flames that engulfed the tree. "K-katon…" he breathed in awe. Never in his life had he thought he would have a first hand experience with that well known technique. That technique only meant one thing as he bolted into the trees. Uchihas. There was only one known Uchiha left…and that meant that he was fucked up the ass right about now. Why you may ask? Well duh…because Uchiha Fucking Sasuke was on his tail. So much for being a marshmallow.

Performing hand seals like lightning he made himself invisible. Just to be certain he ducked into the brush and controlled his breathing. His heart pounded against his rib cage. There was a cold dead silent silence. He could not see any sign of the fire wielding prodigy. Not even the sound of a pair of foot steps. Nothing. With narrowed eyes, the enemy shinobi peered at his surroundings with suspicion. Perhaps he could not see him and had gone after his pink haired team-mate. After all he was quite riveted to her apparently. He shifted and then he heard something. Something…like the twittering of a thousand birds. A thousand…?….FUCK! Suddenly he found himself running and dodging vicious attacks from the Chidori lighting up the night with lethal flashes of blue. How the hell could he see him? Oh yes. The Sharingan can see the heat of the body.

This kid was fast and at the moment it was plain to see that he was holding back. The incognito nin's only chance was that damn medic. He raised his hands and performed the a few hand seals. Sakura's chakra flared from where she stood and she reared into the direction of the fight. He bolted in the kunoichi's direction as she ran in their's. Sasuke pursued after him stubbornly.

The not so hidden anymore ninja cunningly leapt behind the blur of pink and red. Her fists were glowing green and raised high. Just as he predicted, the Uchiha backed off and deactivated the Chidori in a moment of panic. Just before her fist could make impact however another blur appeared. A blur of orange and bright yellow that could still be made out in the darkness of the evening. The Uchiha brat was snatched out of the way of the pinkette's attack as the tree behind him was shattered. "TEME!" the kyubbi vessel shouted. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH SAKURA-CHAN!" Not cool.

Almost the entire team seven troop was here! He was fucked. This was not good. He could not carry out a battle with all of them and keep it quiet. There was no way he was getting anything done tonight. How unproductive. Still…he had her. He just needed to keep her between them and himself until he thought up a way of escape. Civilians might start waking up as well. Wait…civilians….hmmm. He smirked to himself.

….

"Take care of Sakura." Sasuke told his blond best friend coolly. He knew what was wrong with her now. The last Uchiha had seen it with his own eyes. Now that he was certain about it, he would remedy the problem. If Sasuke had anything to do with it, this man would not survive. His Sharingan swirled as he chased after the unseen opponent. Naruto was left dumbstruck at being left out of the loop as his best friend zoomed off in an unknown direction. Instantly he yelled after the raven haired shinobi with maximum concern at this point.

"WAIT SASUKE! WHAT'S GOING ON! WHERE-!"

-WHOOSH!

"GAAHHH!" the blond shinobi barely dodged the pink haired girl's flying fists of death. Quite literal death. Naruto had no doubt in his mind that if Sakura wanted to kill somebody with one punch, she could very well accomplish it. Life fact number 3 in "Naruto's Things to remember that will save your life Manual."

"Sakura-chan?…" he stared at his female team-mate. What was going on with her? Her eyes were dull and void of any actual emotion. It was clear, even to Naruto, that she was not in control. There was a world of difference between Sakura's "Naruto-I'm-going-to-kill-you-baka" glare and whatever _this_ was. "Can you hear me Sakura-chan?" he asked feeling nothing but concern. She launched at him again. He dodged, unwilling to hurt his childhood friend and first crush. He needed to find some way to make her snap out of it. "What's wrong with ugly?" Sai finally appeared then, wielding his paintbrush.

"Some help _you_ are." Naruto muttered at him. He received one of the ROOT nin's embarrassingly fake smiles in response. Sometimes he really wanted to knock that guy's teeth out. "She's under some sort of mind controlling…stuff…Sasuke-teme didn't say much." he shook his head. Sai tilted his head as he looked at Sakura while she continued her assault on Naruto.

"The Uchiha never says much to begin with anyway…I am still very convinced that he has shit for brains.."

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE A DOUCHE BAG SAI! HELP ME OUT HERE! WE GOTTA SNAP HER OUT OF IT!" the kyubbi vessel danced around the pink haired wrecking ball. Sai stroked his chin in thought.

"How are we supposed to accomplish that if we don't even know what exactly is wrong with her, Dickless?" he raised an eyebrow. Naruto shot him a nasty glared before responding by kicking a rock at the newest team member's head. Sai dodged it swiftly and impassively. "I thought team-mates were supposed to work together during a fight not attack one another." he commented. He was going to drive the orange clad ninja out of his mind. Naruto grit his teeth together.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HELP HER OKAY!" he admitted pulling at his own hair. "BUT WE GOTTA TRY _SOMETHING!" _he ranted desperately. His mind was racing. Suddenly Sai tapped on his shoulder as if contemplating something important.

"How is it that you wake her up, most of the time when she refuses to respond during missions?" he asked. Naruto stared at him. It was half assed and stupid. Then again she had been asleep when this had suddenly happened to her…maybe just maybe…it was crazy enough to actually work. Cerulean eyes lit up hopefully. He took a deep breath.

"OI SAKURA-CHAN SAID SHE'D MARRY ME!" he bellowed in her direction at his loudest.

"KYYAAAHHH!" she suddenly looked around in horror. Wide awake. Still the chakra around her fists did not vanish. "Naruto?…What the hell am I doing out here-AAHHH!" She lunged at her team-mates once again. Maneuvering gracefully, now holding a handful of shruiken in her right hand. "What's happening to me?" she shouted, unable to control her own body. "How am I walking?" It was all too much for her to take in.

"It appears that somebody is using, the hag as a puppet of some kind." Sai remarked. At this Naruto recalled when Sasuke had run off. He was probably after the guy. Not cool. Sasuke was not a take prisoners kind of guy. They needed to interrogate this bastard. If Sasuke killed him, valuable information would be lost to them. Looking at Sakura…Naruto had no doubt in his mind that Sasuke wanted to kill him. He had to do something. Now.

….

Ten-ten had still refused to leave Neji's bedside. Hinata was the same. Juugo sat beside her with a very worried expression. She still had not eaten. The gentle giant did not know how to go about this situation. Most of his life had been spent alone. He had never felt the need to comfort anybody who was not there. He thought long and hard to himself as he watched her agitated features. Her pale cheeks were still streaked and wet from fresh rounds of tears. There he was in a room with two crying girls. His large feet shifted awkwardly.

Juugo opened his mouth and took in a breath to speak but quickly silenced himself. What if he said something wrong? Internally he kicked himself for being such a coward. Again he tried to speak but the words would not come out. Hinata seemed to noticed his inner turmoil because she soon spoke up. Still sniffling she smiled weakly at him. "I-I'm so sorry Juugo-kun…you must be t-tired." her voice was tired and soft. He could not help but smile back. Hinata was just so beautiful. "W-would you like me to take you back so you can get some rest?" she asked him, considerate as ever.

"No. It's fine. I'm fine." he shook his head.

"Are you sure?" she placed a hand on his arm before taking it back with a soft blush.

"Yes. I want to stay with you." he admitted sheepishly. He felt as though it was important that he did. His own face took on a rosy color as well. She blushed all the more. Her pearl eyes slid back to the form on the bed, taking on a melancholy once again. Neji was slightly paler than usual. His face had a sheen of sweat over it. He still had mild shakes and his eyes stared up at the ceiling through a haze of some sort of confusion. He always had a reserved, proud, elegant, power about himself. Right now he looked so helpless. It scared the little girl inside Hinata. She reached out and touched his face carefully. By now Ten-ten was asleep still clutching his hand.

Hinata sighed. It was comforting to have Juugo sitting beside her. He always carried this gentle understanding of others about him that made her feel better when he was near by. It was getting late. Hinata allowed her mind to wander as she became fogged up by grogginess. "The doctors say that he's okay." she murmured aloud. He looked down at her again. "Neji…" she trailed off. "Tsunade and the others say that he's okay…for now, but they need to examine exactly what happened with his nervous system, and get a good grasp of what the toxin from the darts was." she said.

Juugo nodded, letting her know that he was listening. Her eyes became glassy as she bit her lip. "He always protected me." her lips trembled and she was crying. "Always." she managed through hiccups. Juugo quickly crouched beside her and placed an arm over her shoulders. "And when he needed me, I was not there." she shook her head.

"No." Juugo scolded the violet haired kunoichi. He moved her hair from her face and wiped the trails of tears from her eyes. "This is not your fault." he said with assurance. "This is the fault of whoever is out there doing this." His oddly colored eyes stared distantly. If anything it was _his_ fault this happened. His fault for being here. The unlikely missing nin's thoughts were interrupted by the small head resting on his shoulder sleepily through more tears.

"Juugo-kun." she whispered.

"Yes?" he asked breathlessly.

"Could you please stay here with me tonight?" she asked. "I hope I am not being presumptuous but I don't feel like going home…or sitting here by myself." her voice was small and tired.

"Of course." was all that he could whisper. Juugo could not sleep for a while with the torrent of feelings he was experiencing as the dark haired kunoichi fell asleep with her head on his shoulder.

…..

Kohana yawned heavily as she exited the front doors of the hospital. Finally her shift had ended. What a day it had been. Three of the village's top ninjas and one missing nin busted through the doors earlier that day. One of said top ninjas had been in a terrible state. Hyugga Neji. It was a dreadful sight to see. Someone as proud and exalted by the village as him reduced to such a low state of vulnerability. It just showed how fragile human beings really were.

She hummed softly as she trudged in the normal direction to her house. There was a sound like running near by and she froze momentarily. Then it stopped. She walked again, listening carefully. Hearing nothing she picked up her pace a bit anyway. There was nothing wrong with being cautious. The night air and moonlight betrayed no sound of her being pursued. Still the receptionist could not shake the feel of unease that enveloped her.

It was all too sudden when she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air and somebody's labored breathing on the back of her neck. Her hair stood on end and she froze. She was unable to move. Panic stricken. She heard the labored breathing become amused chuckles. "Sorry cutie…but I'm going to need some help here." he murmured. All she managed was a sharp gasp as she attempted a mad dash only to be grasped firmly by the elbows and whirled around.

Her eyes met a fierce golden gaze as her attacker laughed again. "Come on." he turned her back around roughly and held her arms behind her back with one hand. Angrily she thrust her head back and bashed him in the face with her head unexpectedly. He was caught of balance and she nearly got loose but being a skilled shinobi against a civilian girl, easily recovered her, this time whipping out a kunai to her throat just as a familiar dark haired shinobi zoomed into view wielding a katana. His red gaze resting on her captor with calm killing intent.

"Alright Uchiha. I know I can't out run you forever so here's how we are gonna do things." he was wise enough not to look the Sharingan wielder in the eyes, but looked at him meaningfully none the less. Sasuke seemed to be analyzing the situation silently. He deactivated his Sharingan. Kohana stared at the surviving Uchiha helplessly. A sweat breaking out on her face.

"Let the girl go now, and I will make this quick." he said in a voice like the calm before the storm. The enemy laughed.

"Let her go? I'm sorry but I don't speak dumb ass. I'll be keeping her with me until you back off, got it?" he took a few paces back. Kohana's eyes welled with tears and she stumbled backwards with him. Using his inhuman speed Sasuke moved to get behind him only to barely avoid darts flying at him as the captor dove out of his way with the girl under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Kohana let out a scream only to have the man's hand clasp over her mouth. Sasuke had been told about Hyugga Neji's case. Darts. These must have been the same ones. He would have to be careful. "Is this about the Haruno medic?" the enemy drawled out to the potential rescuer. 'Sakura-san?' Kohana thought to herself. That would explain why the Uchiha was chasing after this man. He must have done something to Sakura-san. She wriggled against his hold. He gave her a warning shake, not looking at her.

"Drop whatever it is you are doing to her." Sasuke ordered.

"Look I don't think so." he muttered bluntly. "I've got a job to do, and you wont stop me. Especially if you guys want this girl to be okay." he pinched the young receptionist's cheek. By this time Kohana was in tears. He took a few steps back. When the Uchiha brat followed him he stopped. "Do you want this girl dead? I understand she may mean nothing to you…but will Sakura-chan approve?" he grinned.

"Do not use her name." Onyx eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ooooh. Somebody getting testy? Stay out of my way Uchiha."

"What are you after?" the raven haired ninja demanded. Suddenly there was a familiar female scream. Sakura. Sasuke looked sharply in that direction, momentarily distracted and the unknown ninja took advantage of the lapse. He teleported himself and the girl away. Sasuke let out a frustrated breath. This was bad. Now not only was somebody after something in the hospital that had to do with Juugo, but they were also dealing with a hostage situation. Not his forte by any means.

"TEME!" Naruto burst forth from the trees. Behind him appeared Sai, carrying a very distraught looking Sakura. Sasuke moved straight for her. "TEME WHAT HAPPENED!" Naruto demanded catching his shoulder. The Uchiha snatched away his arm and reached to take her from the ROOT nin. "He took a hostage. I couldn't reach them." he grudgingly admitted.

"Hostages?" Sakura perked up with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked Sakura impassively. She smiled weakly at him. She nodded and grabbed onto his shoulders before she continued speaking. "What hostages Sasuke?" she pressed. Naruto and Sai appeared as though they wanted to know as well.

"A girl. The hospital receptionist." he informed honestly. Sakura paled. "Kohana?" she whispered.

"KOHANA!" Naruto growled. "THE BASTARD TOOK KOHANA!" the kyubbi vessel raged. "WHICH WAY DID HE GO! WHAT DO WE DO!" He looked back and forth at his friends. He never forgot a friendly face and certainly not Kohana. She'd seen her outside the hospital and given a greeting every once in a while. He considered her a friend. New or not. Sakura sighed and massaged her temples. Thinking hard. This was terrible. Everything was falling apart. Kohana was a sweet girl. She did not deserve to be snatched up into this mess. It had nothing to do with her. This guy was in for it when she got her hands on him. Finally she sighed in defeat.

"First things first." she stated professionally. "We need to inform Tsunade-sama of this situation now." Looking at her male team-mates for confirmation she saw no sign of opposition from them. "Let's go then." she pursed her lips.

"Shouldn't we get your wheelchair?" Naruto asked. She shook her head in a negative response. "No time Naruto-kun. Let's just hurry. Tomorrow we should break the news of the newest developments to Hinata and Juugo. She's been through enough today." she unconsciously leaned against the Uchiha's chest in her distressed state. This was going to be a long night. They failed to capture and were still as lost as ever. To make matters worst there was a girl being held captive now. Sai tilted his head curiously at the action and began to flip through the pages of his book as they all headed for the Hokage tower.

…..

"A HOSTAGE!" The Lady Hokage was infuriated at this nameless invader of her village. Kakashi appeared in her office at that moment with a 'poof!' She threw a big paper weight at the late shinobi. He barely dodged. "WHERE WERE YOU KAKASHI!" she demanded. He was about to speak. "SHUT UP!" He wisely obeyed the raging woman. She sat back down calmly and intertwined her fingers beneath her nose. "So…we have a hostage to worry about." she let out a breath.

"I'm so sorry Shisou." Sakura had her head bowed.

"Do not be sorry Sakura. I expect you to fix this not lament over it. Does Hyugga-san know about this?" she asked. The pinkette shook her head. "I thought you should be the first person to be informed."

Tsunade nodded, still in deep thought. After a few moments of fuming silence her voice was heard. "There is an obvious enemy shinobi in this village." she growled. "So far he has managed to evade my entire ANBU force, use my apprentice like a stringed puppet doll, critically injure my best shinobi, steal information about my hospital, kidnap civilians…what else is he going to get away with before you all get serious about this?" she glared at the team before her. They all wilted significantly. "How are we supposed to find him? I want answers. Ideas. Now." she placed her hand firmly on her desk.

The shinobi were all thinking. How could they possibly pick out somebody out of so many presences that dwelled in the village? Almost instantly a thought came to each of their heads. The members of team seven all looked at each other. The faintest of smiles coming across their faces. Amber eyes watched them curiously. Perhaps team seven had not been completely outwitted. It was Sakura who spoke up first.

"Shisou…I think we have somebody who can help with that." she smiled. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Who could they be talking about? As her mind worked over the faces and names. One came to mind. Her face softened in realization. Perfect. It just might work. Everybody in the room knew they were talking about the same person. "I'll make arrangements right away." Tsunade told them confidently.

….

Karin sat in her cell. Bored out of her mind. Still being monitored by ANBU officers. Soon she would start doing volunteer work. Suigetsu was behaving really strangely. Always grinning like an idiot. It was disturbing. At the moment however, he was asleep. It seemed as though he was dreaming about something ungodly and disgusting. She curled her lip and rolled her eyes as she twirled uneven strands of hair around her fingers. It was late at night. She couldn't sleep. By now it was possibly two or three a.m. Not cool. So one could imagine the surprise on her face when the doors to the prison hissed open. Voices were heard outside of her cell. Very familiar presences could be felt out there. What were they doing here at this hour?

….

"Does this mean I no longer have to watch her?" a certain ANBU officer inquired. He listened intently to the famous medic's story. Unfortunately she shook her head.

"If Karin helps us out with this mission she will be pardoned for the most part. No execution will be necessary, but in the meantime she will still need to be watched. Village protocal. The elders would insist." Sakura explained. He wilted with annoyance. She raised an eyebrow. "Well then I guess now you see how annoying your beloved counsel can be." she remarked. He sighed.

"Fine." he relented. "Why are you telling me this now? Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" he inquired.

"I am actually not here for you. I wanted to tell her myself." the pinkette explained. "You see I wanted to personally put her in better spirits now that she is no longer in danger of being executed." She gave one of her sweetest smiles. He seemed to be pondering her words.

"JUST LET US IN!" Naruto bellowed after a long silence. It had been a miracle that he had been so quiet for such a long time anyway. They could feel his glare through the panda mask. Sasuke glared right back along with Naruto. Sai gave a fake smile. "Please let us inform the scarecrow of her status." he requested. The ANBU recognized one of his fellow officers and nodded in agreement before letting them in.

"Nice going." Kakashi nudged their favorite black haired sociopath. They entered wordlessly. Naruto muttering something about 'anal bastards' on the way in.

"Karin!" Sakura called. "I have some good news!"

Noting her ridiculously happy expression, Karin nodded for Sakura to continue.

….

Neji stirred in his hospital bed. Things were beginning to clear up in his mind. Where was he? He weakly moved his head. The hospital? What happened? When it all came back to him his eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to pound in panic. Ten-ten. What happened to Ten-ten. He was about to force himself to sit up, but he felt something on his hand as he began to move more. Looking down he saw her. Ten-ten. She was safe. Dead asleep and tired, but safe. That was all that mattered. His head fell back and he let out a long breath as a huge wave of relief over took him.

It looked as though she had been crying. It startled him. Ten-ten rarely cried over anything. She was so tough. He allowed his thumb to brush across her tanned knuckles. Her eyebrows furrowed but she did not wake up. Good. She needed to sleep. He would ask her what happened in the morning. A soft sigh from across the room caught his attention. His white eyes slid in the direction of the sound. There sound asleep in some chairs was his little cousin Hinata. Of course she would have been here. What really caught his eyes however was the large frame of Subject D also known as Juugo. The moonlight outside illuminated their frames. She was leaning against him dead to the world and he was equally out of it. One large arm around her slender shoulders. Like a sleeping giant cradling a sprite. He frowned suspiciously but decided to let it pass for now. After all he did not want to wake up Ten-ten. He would have to talk to Hinata about it tomorrow.

* * *

Author's Note: HI all. Still not enough fluff for my taste. Not to worry though. There will be a lot more in the next chapter. Neji is okay everybody! And What's this? Is Karin going to track down a son of a bitch? I think Karin is going to track down a son of a bitch xD. This will be fun. Poor Kohana. Let's see what happens in the next chappie shall we? Don't forget to review my people! Feed my soul!


	21. Intentions

Author's Note: Ah Crazy in Love. This one I'm going to focus more on Juugo and Hinata. Finally! Plus we might figure out more about this baddie. I keep listening to songs I have not heard since middle school. I'm jamming right now actually xD. Anyway! Enjoy! Read! Love! Review! Muahahahaha :D. Ciao!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto universe! But perhaps someday I can work my way to the top. Lmao. Oh well. Let get on with it.

**Chapter Twenty: Intentions**

Hinata's eyelids were heavy. Her back and neck felt slightly sore and she was leaning against a delightfully firm and comforting warmth. She buried her face into the familiar smell that it emanated. Mmmm, this was nice. Her fingers fisted into soft fabric. Very nice. There was shifting from her warm pillow, but it barely registered through her groggy haze. Why was she so sleepy? Well it was not as though she had fallen asleep early last night so it made sense. At this, her thoughts began to circle about the events of yesterday and concern abruptly gripped her chest.

Pearly eyes flew open to a blurry room. Hinata blinked to clear her vision, her pillow shifted once again. A large hand fell onto her shoulder and squeezed absently. At this her eyes popped. Um…this was so not a pillow. Then she remembered. Her eyes focused on the great sleeping form of Juugo who was cradling her affectionately in his sleep. She turned all shades of red. He looked so content and peaceful that the Hyugga heiress did not have the heart to wake him to the reality of this world. Juugo really did have such a pleasant, attractive face. Her face broke into a small fond smile, despite the confirmed fear that she was harboring feelings for the S-ranked missing nin. Socially incompatible and yet so well suited toward one another. He gave her a warm secure feeling about herself that nobody did.

It was at that moment that out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of long dark hair, and a statuesque pale figure to go along with it. Only this time instead of lying down in a painful, confused, haze he was sitting perfectly upright with the proud posture that she recognized so well. Her head darted in his direction, meeting his wintry, white gaze. He seemed impassive as he regarded her. He had somehow managed to curl Ten-ten beside him in her sleep. The weapon's mistress was a heavy sleeper if one ever existed. It was odd to see him allow somebody so close to him. Perhaps her suspicions of their interactions with one another meaning more than they let on were well founded.

Those thoughts did not last very long however considering he was staring right at Hinata and Juugo with what looked like an emotionless expression, but Hinata knew better. She knew every subtle quirk and tug of his expressions. He did not approve of this sort of intimacy between her and the tall shinobi. Oh boy. Even if she had been seized with a massive wave of relief at seeing her cousin as good as new…this had to be the most awkward moment she had ever experienced. Second to that one time involving her delicates getting sent to the wrong address from the Laundromat.

"Neji-kun." she acknowledged, sitting up in a more appropriate manner. Juugo was still sound asleep as a rock. "You look much better…I'm glad." she breathed. He blinked at her and nodded. He looked down at Ten-ten. Her buns had come loose and it was almost difficult to recognize her without them. He brought back his attention to his little cousin. She was ever so subtly twiddling her two fingers together, but he of course noticed as usual.

"Good morning Hinata-sama." he acknowledged back. His voice sounded so weak and soft. Like he was in dire need of more rest and a glass of water. They sat that way for a bit, looking at each other and at the walls. Well…_He_ was looking straight at Hinata she was looking back and forth from him to everything else in the room.

"H-have they given you breakfast yet?" she asked softly. He shook his head wordlessly. Okay. This was not the easiest situation. He seemed intent on not letting go of the silent conversation. He was always good at speaking without saying a word. "Are you hungry? I could get you something." she inquired. Honestly she wanted him to eat something. Juugo stirred.

Finally Neji opened his mouth again. "I'm certain you know that we have to talk." he informed. She nodded. She would have to show him that everything was okay. In order to do that, she would have to act like the leader that she was. Straightening her posture she cleared her throat.

"What do you have to say?" she motioned for him to speak. He pursed his lips and frowned as if debating his words. Trying to cross his legs Indian style, he winced and rubbed the back of his neck at the sharp pain that shot down his back in protest. It was still quite painful. "Be careful, Neji-kun." Hinata scolded her cousin's carelessness. He cleared his throat, settling down.

"To be frank. What-?"

"Hinata-chan...?" Juugo blinked tiredly. "What time is it?" he asked groggily, propping himself up. Talk about having horrible timing. Neji folded his arms and shut his eyes serenely. Patiently waiting for Hinata to deal with the situation. The young clan leader smiled at the red haired shinobi. "Good morning Juugo-kun." she greeted. He could sense the awkward tension and frowned uncertainly. "Could you please wait outside for me?" she asked him. "I have something to discuss with my cousin." she informed. The gentle giant nodded demurely. He stood up and walked out, straightening the obi around his waist, he did not miss however, the way the male Hyugga's eyes seemed to follow him out of the room.

Hinata noticed this detail as well but ignored the resentment she felt at the action. Juugo closed the door behind him on the way out. Another silence filled the room. She cleared her throat. "Please continue, Neji-kun." she nodded toward him. He sighed a bit.

"As I was saying before. What exactly is the meaning of what has been happening between S-…er…Juugo-san and you?" he inquired, choosing his words carefully in his weary state. It was now Hinata's turn to sigh a little bit. What could she possibly say to him? She was not even certain herself what was going to happen between her and Juugo. It was so strange their relationship. Pinching the bridge of her nose she shook her head.

"I don't know, Neji…I just don't know." she mumbled in a low tone of voice. His white eyes hardened in disapproval.

"How can you not know?" he demanded. This was absolutely ridiculous. She pursed her lips. He shook his head. "This sort of behavior is inappropriate for a kunoichi at your level, your status." he stated bluntly. Hinata frowned but continued to listen anyway. "If you are courting, then I suppose it's only natural." he muttered. "However, I by no means feel that it is wise to become involved in such a way this particular shinobi." he stated bluntly. Now Hinata glared. She knew where this was heading. She spoke up before the lecture could continue.

"Juugo-kun and I have not been courting." she stated curtly. "We have however grown close…and in anycase, Captain Hyugga, you have no right to dictate my decisions. Last time I checked I was in charge here." The young girl straightened her posture further. Neji huffed.

"Hinata-sama, our family na-"

"You are starting to sound like my father, Neji." she warned. This silenced the young Hyugga male. He stared at her unable to form words. She cleared her throat. It was difficult to talk to somebody she cared so much about like this. Sometimes people needed a dose of reality however. "'The Hyugga name.' Did he not say that a lot?" she murmured.

"Hinata-sama-"

"No, Neji. You need to start circulating these thoughts." she interrupted firmly. "You of all people should know better than to expect others to adhere to the strict rules of our family, Neji." she began. "They were unfair to the 'lower branch' members especially you. As for courting and marriage, I would assume you would have appreciated more liberal regulations." He frowned at these words. She let out a breath of laughter. "You don't know what I am talking about?" she inquired. He blinked at her. Hinata stood up and walked over to the hospital bed where he rested.

"It would not be ideal for a respected member of the clan like you to be so close and intimate with a girl who is without even a simple clan name." she motioned to the slumbering kunoichi on his bed. He looked down at Ten-ten.

"I just wanted to make sure she did not injure her back." he murmured in a hushed tone. "She did not have to come here and stay the night. I would have been fine." he seemed confused looking down at her. Hinata smiled knowingly. She leaned over and kissed her cousin where his seal once resided. "I know that you are nothing like my father." she assured him. The ANBU captain pursed his lips and nodded. "I am going to take care of Juugo-kun now." she walked toward the door.

"Oh and…as clan leader I will support any marriage plans that you might make in the future. Any at all." she smiled at him. He gave a start and she laughed as his cheeks took on a subtle hue of pink. He watched as his little cousin closed the door behind herself. He let out a long sigh. An apology was in order later he assumed. His eyes moved down to the still deeply sleeping girl beside his legs. 'Marriage?' he thought. 'Ten-ten?' His eyebrows furrowed together. 'How absurd I…' His thought could not be finished as he looked at his female team-mate. She had began to stir and stretch out and he felt his breath hitch when her brown eyes fluttered open to meet his. 'Oh Kami…' his stomach dropped.

…..

Juugo looked up as the door to the hospital room he had just been inside opened beside him. Hinata stepped out with a smile on her face that put him at ease right away. He had thought that something was wrong when he was asked to leave. Perhaps it was, but as long as it seemed to be solved now, he did not feel the need to worry. He smiled back at her. "Are we going to keep working today? You seem to need some rest Hinata-chan." he admonished. She shook her head.

"I was hoping we could have a break, maybe meditate in the park for a bit. It seems so unnecessary at this point to keep you in that cell. Y-you've progressed so well. You haven't gone beserk o-once." The Hyugga heiress was thrilled at this fact. Juugo blushed happily. At this point in time hope was already built up inside of him so high that it frightened him. A nursed passed by and was flagged down by Hinata.

"What can I do for you, Hyugga-sama?" she nodded to the girl.

Hinata folded her arms. "I just wanted to know why Captain Hyugga Neji has not been given his breakfast yet?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. The nurse paled. "I'm sure Tsunade-sama will not be pleased if her patients are neglected, especially one so prestigious as Hyugga Neji." Hinata seemed like such a different person professionally. Juugo watched the exchange with interest as the nurse stuttered on an apology.

"Oh we are so sorry..I-I apologize on behalf of the other workers here." she turned red. "I'll take care of it right away." she nodded fervently.

"See that you do please, and make sure he gets an extra portion of water, thank you very much for listening." Hinata placed a comforting hand on the females nurse's shoulder. She nodded before scurrying off. Juugo watched her leave for a second and looked back to Hinata. He smiled at her once again. "What?" she asked him in puzzlement.

"How long have you been the head of your clan?" he asked softly. Ah he had such a pleasant gentle way of speaking. She blushed.

"Ano…not very long actually. Why? Is it that obvious?" she admitted a vague insecurity. He was surprised. She was already so good at executing her authority. She was that new? People respected her as though she had been doing this for years already. Juugo was impressed. He blinked at her in surprise, before breaking out into a warm smile. Unaware of how weak it made her when he did that. He shook his head no.

"No." he laughed. "It's the opposite in fact. I think that this job suits you." He shrugged his broad shoulders. Hinata blushed happily at the compliment and nervously tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. As adorable as always. Juugo decided that he really liked her. In fact the extent that he liked her to frightened him a lot. He could not possibly hope to be on par with somebody like her.

She startled him when she gripped his wrist with her small hand and pulled him along behind her. His cheeks heated up as he followed after her like an overgrown puppy. Neji had put something in perspective for Hinata. She did have feelings for Juugo that went beyond a normal friendship. Regardless of what her family thought about it…she was hoping that perhaps she could figure it out for herself.

…..

Last night was far too close. Too close. Period. Our mystery nin had decided to abandon his original plan. Research be damned. He needed to get to the seed of the reason that he was here in the first place. Get what he came for and get the hell out of here. It was happening again. There was a ninja who kept tuning into his presence. Oooh whoever they were, they were good. This time however, they kept feeling for him. Persistantly seeming to follow him around. Damn it! He had no more time here. He had overstayed his welcome. His luck had run out and the circumstances were closing in around him.

The girl he had swiped from the hospital was noisy. She kept whimpering and sniffling. Honestly if she didn't shut up he'd make her. He rolled his eyes and looked over at her. She was gagged now, and her arms and legs were bound from where she sat leaned against the trunk of a tree. Her glaring lavender blue eyes were misty and red rimmed with tears. He scoffed at her and shook his head. "Come on girlie, it's not so bad." he grinned. She only held up a single finger in response. Ha! And here he thought she was the shy, demure type. He smirked. "You know, under other circumstances I might have been able to have fun with a cute little thing like you." She made a sound of disagreement that rolled along the vibe of disgust. He chuckled.

Sensing presences again he snatched up the squirming girl. "Hey, hey cut it out." he warned impatiently. Leaping into the tree tops, he observed. Wow. He had not even had to go looking. His target had come right to him. Perhaps luck had smiled on him one last time. Well here goes everything.

….

Hinata laughed as Juugo related his completely unwarranted (due to his size), fear of spiders. "It's true." he shyly admitted, feeling more heat rise to his cheeks in his humiliation. "I've never liked them. Everytime I see one…I sort of panic a bit." he hung his head. She giggled. "Well, normally you kill them…and I…don't want to…but at the same time I want to get rid of them with as little contact as possible. Killing does things to me, remember?" he said in his own defense as he scratched the back of his head. Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine Juugo-kun." she was still smiling widely. "Sometimes I get nervous around cows." she told him. He snorted trying not to laugh at her. It came out anyway. Hinata sighed and turned red. "N-Neji-kun, is still trying to get me to m-m-milk one just because he feels that my f-fear is completely absurd and he wants me to get over it." she told him twiddling her fingers together. The gentle giant chuckled lightly.

"Cows?" he asked. She blushed harder.

"I-it isn't funny. They are so huge…and I-I can t-t-tell that they don't like me." she muttered. They were sitting under a tree now happily talking. They had originally planned on meditating but they continued to find more and more to talk about until they had completely forgotten about it.

"That's absurd." Juugo smiled gently. "I can't believe that anything or anybody could ever dislike you." He shook his head. "You're just so…nice and likeable…like some sort of light about you." He admitted. Hinata blinked at him. Unaware of how weak she made him when she looked at him like that. He gave a shy smile. Hinata was suddenly made aware of just how much she liked him. It scared her. She blinked up at the shinobi beside her. He cleared his throat and looked ahead. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked warily. She shook her head right away.

"No. no. Not at all." she swallowed with a blush as bird twittered animatedly. Suddenly Juugo sat erect again. Like the last time when they had almost…well…almost kissed. She had to admit it at this point. They had nearly…oh no more of that! Hinata soon followed his example as he stood. "What is it?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes at the trees surrounding them.

"The birds…" he trailed. "They are saying somebody dangerous is coming." he frowned. "…but I don't see anything." he shook his head, feeling confused. Now Hinata narrowed her eyes.

"Byakuggan." she murmured softly, activating her blood line limit. Juugo watched her silently. If anybody would be able to catch a glimpse of anything suspicious it would be her and her talented eyes. Hinata looked on in confusing she couldn't seem to find anything that warranted caution. That was until she looked up. There was the lithe shape of a person in a canopy of branches. "Juugo-kun…" she trailed. "Cover me. I see something. I'm going to check it out." she murmured calmly. Juugo would have protested, but he forced himself to remain passive. He had the utmost faith in Hinata's abilities.

Concealing her chakra, Hinata slipped into the trees with Juugo behind her checking out the perimeter. She pulled out a kunai soundlessly and placed it between her teeth as she climbed. She kept her eyes trained on the figure in the branches. As she got closer she could see that it was squirming like some kind of trapped earth worm. Then she noted that it was a girl. She blinked in confusion. Sakura had described her attacker as a man so…who the hell was this? She was about to call down to Juugo when the branch she was perching on was suddenly sliced out from under her. She kicked off and gripped another. There was an invisible sillouette like shape that circled her with lightning speed.

Ten-ten had described this to her. Juugo could not see him. She could. Only barely. She now understood why Neji had such trouble. He was quick and the fight had not even started. Well she would get retribution for what had been done to her cousin.

Juugo had lost sight of the kunoichi and was starting to worry as he followed the sounds of a battle. He needed to help her somehow. "Juugo! The girl! Get her!" he heard her voice sharp and commanding. Instantly he was leaping up the trees with ease. He was now focused on his objective. The wind rushing through his hair. He landed at the top of the canopy with surprising lightness for someone so large. He recognized the form curled up in a fetal position from the hospital. Tears streaked down her cheeks. He was surprised to see her. Quickly he began to unbind her feet. His pulse was starting to give rise to a very terrifyingly familiar feelings. She was motioning with her head and did not quite understand at first. Then taking the hint, he realized that she was telling him to look behind him.

He barely dodged a barrage of rigged exploding tags, snatching the girl up as he leapt away. He heard a familiar scream and his eyes widened. Placing the girl down, he decided that he had to go to a certain Hyugga girl's aid.

Hinata had heard the explosion and it startled her. The first thing that came to her mind was Juugo. Had he been hurt? In her moment of distraction she had been immobilized. "You'd make a much more effective hostage, eh Hyugga-sama?" he said her title with mocking disdain. She growled and made to break out of his hold but he hit a pressure point on her arm. "I got a really lucky break didn't I? Now where is that squeeze of yours?" he looked around pursing his lips. He swung his long dark brown braid over his shoulder. She screamed in frustration. He held both of her arms behind her back to prevent her from making any hand seals.

Suddenly the tree was knocked out from beneath them. The attacker kicked off of the tree and looked around. Where had that come from? Hinata continued to struggle much to his annoyance. He would need chakra strings for this one. Making quick work of tying her up, he bolted into the trees to where the other girl once was. Ugh. Apparently his trick had not worked. The nameless assailant's eyes darted around searching until he spotted the girl. Something big was chasing him. He felt it. What the hell? He grabbed Hinata and placed and kunai to her throat. No time to go after the other hostage right now. Once more he barely avoided a swipe that shattered the tree and kicked off the ground so hard that he landed and slid meters away.

Both his and Hinata's eyes widened at the horrific sight before them. The placid, kind shinobi was standing before them. If it could be called standing. Half of his body had grown to dreadful proportions and parts of his skin were blackened the rest was gray like some sort of clay. He held the look of an outraged madman. "Holy shit." the enemy knew what was happening. This was why he was here after all. Not cool. "Juugo-kun." he heard the girl in his hold whisper in a trembling, fearful voice.

He panted hideously. "_I…wont let you take her…!" _It sounded almost like a cross between beast and man. These words alerted Hinata and Juugo was still aware and trying to overcome his state and save her as well. She tried to speak and was given a violent shake by her captor.

"Which one?" he asked jeeringly as he snatched up his first hostage. "This one? This one?" he held them both up one at a time by the hair. "Come with me peacefully and I'll back off of them." he stated calmly. Hinata could see the cold sweat on his brow however. Oh yeah, he was scared alright. Juugo advanced slowly and menacingly.

"Let… GO!" Hinata demanded. When he refused she began to subtly use a shruiken from her waist to cut the strings. He barely had time to register what she was doing before she cut off the chakra flow to the arm holding her and bolted for Juugo. With a curse, he unwisely used the remaining strength in his arm to toss something at her. There was a sharp pain in her side and she fell to the floor. Juugo charged head on with killing intent. The ninja readied himself for the struggle of a lifetime.

A small pair of arms just then, darted out and boldy gripped the giant berserker's leg in a vicelike grip. His head shot in her direction. The enemy watched the exchange with fascination. Her eyes were tearing from the pain she was experiencing as she shook her head pleadingly at the large man. "Please…f-fight it…" she buried her head on the back of his knee not caring what happened to her next, as long as she did her best to help Juugo stop himself from losing it. He beast snarled but made no move to harm her. It was the most amazing thing the mystery ninja had ever seen.

Suddenly there was a poof beside him. "Yo." a masked man grinned. Crap. "Hatake Kakashi, famous copy nin of Konoha." Yes he knew everybody by their profiles already. He moved the whimpering girl in front of him. "Stay back." he warned. "I have no beef with you guys." he stated. "I'm just here for him." he motioned to the man-possessed.

"No 'beef' with us? Ha! After all that you've done? You have got to be kidding me." Haruno Sakura appeared on the other side, on her own two legs. Her hands resting on her hips.

"How the hell are you walking?" he demanded. His golden eyes narrowed at the pinkette. She grinned wickedly.

"The Lady Hokage is very resourceful, once we figure out your little puppetry trick we fixed the problem shortly." she chuckled. She looked over and saw the scene with Hinata. Fear clutched her chest. "Hinata-chan!" she screeched, but then stopped short upon getting a better look at the scene. Juugo was…he was going back to normal? How was that possible?

"HEY!" Naruto jumped out of nowhere. "Put Kohana down you son of a bitch!" he shouted angrily, pointing a finger. Karin walked out of the trees with her arms folded. When the enemy shinobi spotted her he knew she was the one who found him.

"It makes sense that they would use you." he stated. She scoffed at him and adjusted her glasses in response.

"You have longer hair than Hinata-san's male double." a voice suddenly stated from directly behind him. He jumped in surprise. How had he not noticed that guy. He held an eerie fake smile. This had to be the ROOT member by the name of Sai. The replacement of Uchiha Sasuke. He did not stand a chance against all of these people. Sakura had run to check out Hinata. The three Team Kakashi members circled him trying to find an opening to get the girl. Hell no. Over his dead body. He spoke too soon. There was a sudden blur and he was made familiar with red irises and spinning comas. "Fuck me…" and he was out.

The enemy shinobi keeled over taking the girl down with him. Naruto hurried over to pull her up while Sai and Kakashi tied up the assailant. "I'm sure Ibiki will have a field day with this guy." Kakashi drawled. They hauled him up like a sack of potatoes. Sasuke was glaring with a hard expression.

"He deserves to die." he said coldly.

Kakashi eyed his former star student. "Yeah, well we will just have to leave that up to the council _after _we interrogate him." he stated bluntly. Sasuke folded his arms proudly. "Sakura is she okay?" he looked over at the three ninja sitting on the ground. Green eyes looked at her male team-mates and shook her head with concern. Juugo was apologizing profusely for losing himself once again. He felt extremely discouraged, and had no idea what had just happened.

"Is she okay?" he sounded desperate as he cradled her form to his chest. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. "Juugo-kun. You need to calm down okay?" she coaxed. No sooner did she say this that Hinata gripped both of their shirts with both hands and began to convulse. Sakura pulled a medic book out of her pouch and had her bite on it swiftly. "Sasuke!" she shouted. He was the fastest there. "Get her to the hospital!" she shouted. Juugo didn't want to release her, but Sasuke was faster than he was, so he handed her over to the Uchiha, feeling very close to a break down. If anything else happened to her he would never forgive himself.

….

"Please let me see her." Juugo sounded desperate. The nurses had resuscitated the Hyugga heiress far quicker than they had with Neji. She had made it there quicker and they already knew what to do for this particular situation. She would be fine. Still the beserker pestered them to let him enter and see her. The poor nurses were unsure as to whether or not to let him in. A stern look from a certain pinkette made them quickly make up their minds however.

….

Hinata's eyes blinked open wearily. Everything was blurry but she could make out the sound of heavy breathing. She could feel warm arms encircling her bridal style. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When she managed to look up, the color of the hair was unmistakable. "Juugo-kun…" she managed weakly, reaching to grip his shoulder. "You're okay.." she smiled with relief.

It was like a knife to the gut. Here she was in this state and all that she could think about was that his condition be fine. His face contorted with guilt. "Hinata-chan…I'm so sorry." he buried his head into her shoulder. "I lost control again." He shook his head. Hinata let her hand stroke the orange locks of his hair. She was too tired to speak too much. Instead she brought his face to look at her and shook her head meaningfully. He blinked at her. "I…wasn't able to help…and when I saw him…holding you like that…and kunai…I couldn't…I couldn't stop myself." his voice cracked.

"Juugo-kun…" she tried to get his attention.

He shook his head. "Hinata-chan, if anything were to happen to you, I would go out of my mind!" he hugged her close.

"Juugo-kun look at me." she managed sternly. "I'm okay see?" she said in a much softer tone now. His eyes softened as their gazes met. Her slender fingers gently combed through his hair. It was happening again. They magnetized towards each other. Slowly. Certainly. Hinata's eyes fluttered shut, allowing Juugo to secretly admire the coloring of her cheeks and her long eye lashes. His eyes slowly shut as well. This time however there was no interruption as their lips met and their arms entwined around each other. Well…it was settled. Hinata definitely had to whoop some of her family members into silence some time soon.

* * *

Author's Note: YAY! Finally huh! Even I'm happy. XD. Hopefully I did this well. I've come to realize that I've never actually put a kissing scene down on paper. :O. Omg I've been slacking off. Lol. Anywayz REVIEW! NOW! AS IN THIS VERY SECOND! CLICK THE BUTTON AND COMMENT PEOPLE! Lmao.


	22. Getting Deeper

Author's Note: Muahaha more plot twists xD. Let us see what this baddie has to say for himself. Hope yall enjoy this chappie. I've come to realize that even though I enjoy my fluff…something is missing…hmm….ah well. I will figure it out. In any case the show must go on. Tee hee…I find myself saying that a lot 'in any case' xD. Alrighty enough spazziness…onward! Read and Review as I always say and… Ciao!

Disclaimer: I own nothing as usual and am in quite a hurry to get this moving along so yeah. Let me have my fun! I already know that it aint mine. Quit rubbing it in! Moving on.

**Chapter Twenty One: Getting Deeper**

"An A-ranked mission? Well finally! Kami!" Ino openly huffed. She had felt pretty stagnant with the lack of missions lately, let alone good ones. "Tell me more, Tsunade-sama." she added. The newly married Shikamaru was standing beside her along with Chouji. Suigetsu of course was made to wait outside. Tsunade raised an eyebrow and the blonde's boldness. Somebody was eager. Shikamaru cleared his throat and gave Ino a look. She pouted in response.

"What she means it that she excited to be going on another mission in so long Tsunade-sama, it has been a while since our team has been put together." the lazy leaf nin explained. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nara, I am aware what Yamanaka-san meant by her statement." she said pointedly. The Lady Hokage laced her fingers beneath her nose. "In any case allow me to brief you on the details." she began curtly. She motioned for them to have a seat. The three ninja obeyed wordlessly. Tsunade cleared her throat. "In fire country and elsewhere, shinobi of all sorts of unusual or unique abilities have been attacked or abducted. I have reason to believe that if this issue is not taken care of that it will spread here." she stated dryly, with a critical frown at the file of information that she had on these recent happenings. "This is mainly to gather as much intelligence on this as possible." she explained. "I am sending Yamanaka with you two because we need an expert on gathering information, and a killer strategist which means you Shikamaru, this mission is under your command." she nodded towards him. He nodded back respectfully.

"I only have one question, Lady Hokage." Ino piped up respectfully. Tsunade looked at her and nodded for her to proceed. Ino cleared her throat. "What am I supposed to do with Hozaki Suigetsu in the meantime?" she inquired. As far as Ino knew, nobody was willling to watch him. Tsunade straightened her posture. Here it was.

"I want you three to bring him with you." she stated. The two male team members tensed up and Ino huffed, folding her arms. This was not going to be fun. Chouji and Shikamaru had made it pretty clear that they did not like the mist nin very much. They would be polite at the most. Suigetsu however, being very perceptive would pick up on the hostility and be way less civil towards them, thus making them forsake any thoughts of getting along. Chouji at least. Shikamaru was fortunately too much of a thinker to let annoyances like Suigetsu ruin an important A-ranked mission.

"Um Tsunade-sama…" Shikamaru began. He did not think bringing along the S-ranked missing nin would be good for team morale. Chouji and him were likely to get into spats. Plus if he were to attempt an escape it would be problematic to their mission. What was the Godaime thinking? She gave him a look that made him trail off.

"I am aware of the precautions, he will not be going as a shinobi of this village, however finding a 'baby sitter' for him would be a hassle considering he only ever cooperates for Yamanaka, also it would be a good way to test out just how much he can be trusted." she stated. Before Chouji could speak up with his objections the busty woman interjected. "I have already considered an escape attempt. If he tries anything funny he is to be eliminated." she said soberly. The words made Ino shiver internally. It was like ice dropping in her gut. She paled slightly.

"Suigetsu is an opportunist, but he wouldn't do that. It would be just plain stupid." she spoke up. "He would have nothing to gain from it other than putting himself at the mercy of bounty hunters once again." The other ninjas in the room looked at Ino and she cleared her throat, maintaining a generally impassive demeanor. Chouji frowned and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "All I am saying is that I highly doubt he would try to runaway from his best option." she shrugged. Tsunade nodded.

"A precaution. I trust you will warn him." she told the young blond in front of her desk. Ino nodded soundlessly, not looking at her team mates. Shikamaru cleared his throat once again. "Yes, Nara?" Tsunade's gaze slid to meet his.

"So… at what location are we supposed to begin our search and investigation?" he inquired professionally. "Is there a specific place where all of this is running the most rampant?" he asked. Tsunade rested her hands on her desk.

"No I'm afraid but since it is not happening here to our knowledge…we have to look elsewhere. I have made arrangements in Suna for your accommodations." she told her shinobi curtly. They all exchanged looks. How would they take to the presence of Hozaki Suigetsu over there? Not well no doubt. Shikamaru nodded toward the Hokage wordlessly but his concern was plainly etched on his face. With a sigh she spoke up again. "The Kazekage has been informed of all the details." she assured. "Nobody will question you, understand?"

"Hai." he stood straight.

"Good. Do you accept the mission?" she asked, in order to make it official.

"Hai!" They each responded with vigor, bowing.

"Good. You leave right away. You are dismissed." she waved them off. They only stared in momentary surprise at being sent off so soon before obeying. As they exited and shut the door behind them she stood up and paced about her office. Her hands were linked behind her back as she stopped at the window gazing out at the village. Soon she would retire and after that, finally enjoy relaxation in her old age. She had made her decision for her successor already and knew very well that they would make her proud. Now all there was for her was to wait for this crisis to end and they could all get on with their lives.

"Tsunade-sama." Shizune poked her head into the older woman's office looking jittery. Tsunade looked over her shoulder at her assistant.

"Yes Shizune?" she inquired calmly, wondering what could be up now.

"Hinata, Sakura, and the others have found and apprehended the culprit that we have been dealing with." she told her. Tsunade perked up. Already? Well Team Kakashi certainly made up for their previous lapse. She would have to commend them. She walked about over to her desk, sat down, and stroked her chin.

"That was fast." she smiled fondly. "Where is he?" she asked.

Shizune stepped into the office professionally. "Last I heard, they were taking him to be interrogated right away." she stated. Tsunade nodded in approval. Ah Sakura and Hinata, as efficient as ever. Well she would sit here and wait patiently before she asked them what they discovered. Just to see how long it would take for them to come to her with their information.

…..

Suigetsu perked up as a certain blond exited the office of the dragon lady, her team mates close behind. "So…how did it go?" He grinned, standing up from his crouched position beside the doors. Ino looked at him and sighed.

"Saddle up sushi boy. It looks like we're going on a trip." she informed him resignedly. Violet eyes lit up every so slightly. A trip? Wait just a moment now. Last time he checked he was on the dragon lady's black list. Was he being sent on a mission now? When did that happen?

"Wait, huh? A mission? With me?" he blinked in confusion. Ino rolled her blue eyes.

"You are not coming as a team mate, Flipper." she explained. He frowned. "Yeah. You will be accompanying us with decent chakra restraints and don't even think about making a break for it." she told him sternly. He blinked. Why would he be such an idiot. Make a break for it with chakra restrictions with bounty hunters out there? Ha! Good one. Besides…this place seemed to have everything he could possibly need. What was not to like? Well he might get a bit restless but that was what joining the special ops units was for.

"Alright, well lead on then blondie." he grinned toothily motioning for her to go first. Shikamaru and Chouji frowned.

"Ino. We're going to rendezvous at the gate after we all go and pack our things." Shikamaru informed her, trying his best to be professional about all of this. He had yet to ask her about Suigetsu, and it felt so awkward not to have the air cleaned of the issue. Ever since the wedding he had been concerned about her relationship with the missing nin. He didn't trust him frankly, and with good reason from what he knew about him. Didn't he torture his victims. He was the type that needed to have somebody keep an eye on them.

Ino simply nodded to him in acknowledgement before heading off with the silvery haired mist nin. Chouji clearly hated him so far. Oh lord. If he called Chouji fat on the mission….he massaged his temples. This was not going to work. Hopefully it would not be too troublesome for him.

….

"Suigetsu, if you so much as look at my team mates the wrong way, I will castrate you. I am trying to do this professionally so behave yourself." Ino warned. Suigestu snickered. This was going to be fun. "I mean it!" she snapped. The last thing she needed was for him to cause trouble. She wanted to end this job quickly. "I will make sure you can never copulate ever again let alone reproduce, I don't care about your little liquidy parlor trick I WILL find a way!" she growled at him, clutching the collar of his shirt and shaking him violently.

"You know, you're as bossy as Karin." he stated. This earned him a good kick in the shin. "Ow!"

"You will cooperate with anything Shikamaru says and you will not pick a fight with him or with Chouji. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" her teeth suddenly looked sharper than his for a second. Suddenly Suigetsu took her threat to 'find a way' very seriously.

"Alright I get it." he muttered. "I'll be good."

"Good." Ino nodded. "Do you swear?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah." he waved her off. She nodded and walked ahead of him once again. It was not as though he had planned to pick fights but pestering them would have been fun. He grinned at the idea. Still Miss Bombshell would have none of it. She was lucky that he liked her so much. Anybody else would have gotten a smile and a nod before he deliberately contradicted everything they said to him. He had always been a mischevious and contrary person since childhood. With her though, he would behave, because she did not tell him what to do to control him, she did her job for her own good and as of recent for _his_ good too. Besides...

She turned to look over her at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you gonna just lag behind? You better not be eyeing my ass Flipper!" she shook her fist at him. He chuckled. If listening to her for the most part kept her around, he could deal with it.

...

"I can't take anymore of him." Ibiki growled as he exited the interrogation room. "He's stubborn." he admitted to the shinobi group who brought in their prisoner. "He's making a mockery out of this whole ordeal." he grunted. Hinata and the others stood aghast. After all sorts of methods of torture all the guy ever did was spit in their faces. It was becoming unbelievable. Almost like a lost cause. They knew wanted Juugo…but why, and who was he, and who the hell did he work for?

"Are you telling me that nobody has managed to get any sort of information from him?" Sakura was astonished. Hinata stood beside her seething. There was just no way that they would go through all of this trouble to come up short. What could they possibly to do make him talk? The pinkette bit her lip. All of this to come to a dead end? No way! Impossible. At this point Naruto was yelling at Ibiki to let him at the guy, but the interrogation specialist was certain that both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke would end up killing the subject.

"Not only has he given us nothing but nonsense talk, he is attempting to provoke his own death, he is that dedicated to keeping himself silent." he stated. Fortunately unlike other subjects he did not have an automatic suicide detonation implanted somewhere in his body…like the stone shinobi. Those psychos.

"If he is so intent on dying to keep silent, that means he is showing that he is aware that he does have a breaking point that could very well be reached, all we have to do is find it." Hinata remarked calmly. Sakura and Karin both nodded in agreement. Sasuke was obviously upset that he was not allowed in, however he remained silent. Something told him that he would get his chance. Naruto was openly ranting and raving in the background, throwing a good old fashion 'believe it' tantrum. Kakashi looked frustrated, and Sai was just doing what he did best.

"THE BACCHAN IS GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE LEARNED SOON AND IF WE HAVE NOTHING WE'LL LET HER DOWN AGAIN BELIEVE IT! COME ON! GIVE ONE OF US A SHOT!" the blonde shinobi jumped up and down like he was twelve years old all over again. Sasuke glared at him, feeling quite humiliated to call him his best friend. Hinata was slowly and surely losing her patience and the last thing she wanted to do was unleash her temper on somebody who did not deserve it. She would find out what that bastard wanted with Juugo. One way or another. Even if she had to pry it out of him herself.

"Look Uzumaki! You are lucky I even let you in here after the all of the monstrous migraines you have provided me with in the past, so don't push it!" Ibiki snapped.

"Naruto calm down, please." Sakura told him sternly. He huffed and folded his arms, still fidgeting and twitching anxiously. He was always the type to prefer getting right into the action. Hinata sighed and shook her head. Her first crush still had not changed very much. Sai opened his mouth to add in a 'helpful' remark only to be quickly silenced by a simultaneous smack from Kakashi and Sakura.

"Fine…" Naruto growled. "So then what do we do now?" he asked, tapping his foot up and down. Karin adjusted her glasses.

"Have you tried some sort of drugs? Truth syrums?" she asked dryly. Ibiki tried not to roll his eyes at these persistent little kids. Yes they were still little kids as far as he was concerned, even if they looked like much bigger versions of the Rookie Nine hob goblin bunch. They were still little hob goblins. Of course he had tried truth syrums, the idiot babbled on about underwear and things that he clearly was bringing up on purpose. It was evident that he was making fun of the attempt rather than actually being affected.

"Yes…he has a firmly developed immunity to all of our drugs, he came prepared it seems." he stated. "It is also evidence that this plan was a long time coming." he added in. Kakashi stroked his chin. It seemed like they had a new enemy somewhere. How many others were there?

Hinata had, had quite enough by now. She stepped forward, decision reached. Clearing her throat, she got the experts attention as he conversed with Kakashi. The two seasoned shinobi looked at her curiously. "Excuse me, but I would like to try my hand at this situation if you don't mind…" she said with an eerie calm. Her dark bangs were covering her eyes.

Everybody by now already knew that when Hyugga Hinata became like this there was no going against her. Her aura seemed to ooze murderous rage. Naruto quickly ran to the other side of the room, and Karin backed away considerably as well, after having been attacked by this girl once before. She certainly did not need a repeat incident. Kakashi and Ibiki both stared wide eyed at the heiress. They quickly moved aside and opened the door for her.

"…Thank you…" she said, slowly stalking past them. Oh that guy was in such trouble. Ibiki tried to speak up, thinking she would kill him but both Kakashi and Sakura shook their heads no at him swiftly. This kept him from speaking but upon looking at Sai, the specially trained ROOT member, moving to stand behind the rosette and the Uchiha even he decided that it was a bad idea. He deemed it best to observe what exactly the Hyugga girl planned on doing.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder but said nothing before she kept walking. Kakashi silently closed the doors behind her. The group all exchanged nervous expressions except for Sasuke who kept up his usual impassive face, and Sai who continued to make his fake smile. There was dead silence. Slowly they all leaned against the door to listen. Even Sasuke frowned with curiosity and went with them. Sai continued to lean against a wall drawing. Still they could make out nothing much. Maybe slightly audible murmurings. Soon there was nothing and then it happened.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

They all darted away from the door in shock. What the hell was going on there? They gaped like fish and Sasuke's fingers twitched toward the hilt of his katana instinctively. Usually they only ran along the hilt of his weapon back during the days where he spent most of his time in a paranoid caution. Sakura blinked in pure shock. Naruto threw his arms around her as the noises continued. None however was quite as caught off guard as Morino Ibiki, for only Morino Ibiki knew that those doors and windows….were designed to be sound proof.

A few things could be made out, but mostly pleading. Karin paced about nervously remembering the times back in Sound when the prisoners were tortured or experimented on. "OH KAMI!…NO MORE…END IT! MAKE IT STOP!" his voice could be made out. Sakura covered her mouth with one hand and pet Naruto's hair with the other to comfort him. Then…once again there was silence. The group bolted to the door again. This time however they could hear him muttering through sniffles and coughs. Eventually they heard foot steps walking back toward the door and they all backed off again.

Hinata pushed open the doors. As she stepped out she looked perfectly normal again. She raised an eyebrow at the faces and behavior of her comrades. What happened to them? "Did I miss something?" she asked awkwardly. Naruto stood upright and cleared his throat, trying to look as macho as possible, Sasuke simply folded his arms and drew his attention back to his thoughts, Sakura shook her head wordlessly. They all gave slight negative indications that were not very convincing to the young Hyugga girl. Still, she decided to let it pass. Team Kakashi was known for being a bit strange after all, so she didn't feel the need to ask.

"Have a good day then, Horigoshi Kiyoshi." she said over her shoulder to the now trembling ne'er-do-well in the room behind her. She had gotten his name? Ibiki was impressed. He would have to ask her about her methods after all of this. "I hope I wont have to come visit you tomorrow." she added and closed the doors behind her.

"You got his name?" Sakura asked in surprise. Hinata looked at her and nodded simply.

"I also know the basics on why he is here. Ibiki-san, I trust you will find him more cooperative now." she smiled in her normally sweet way. "Would you like me to brief you?" she sounded so demure now all of the sudden that it was almost blasphemous to what they had witnessed and heard only moments before. All Ibiki could do was nod, still speechless. "Well then I think we should all know. So let's all get briefed and then I will tell Juugo what's going on, since I believe he's entitled to know about the man who wanted to collect him." she stated. "We have quite a bit to talk about."

They all followed after her, still unable to believe what had just happened a few seconds ago.

….

Tsunade sat in her office dumbfounded at the actual useful information that she had just received from the Kazekage. Well they were definitely right to get involved in this. "Shizune!" she called out. The dutiful assistant entered the office immediately in response. She began to compose her reply onto paper.

"Yes Tsunade-sama." Shizune bowed.

"I need you to…get Hinata in here. I have to tell her something that I have just discovered." she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She rolled up the paper scroll she had just made, and reattached it to the bird's leg for it to be delivered on the bird's return to it's masters back in Suna. Her assisant nodded, suddenly noting the suspicious smell of liquor. She frowned. "Well hurry up!" Tsunade snapped. She hurried out, planning to search the Hokage's desk later that day.

The Godaime's amber eyes fell as she thought to herself. Gaara would be briefing Shikamaru and his team on what he knew and then they would investigate. By the subjects that went missing and the missing nin who were beginning to vanish she knew something was up and that Juugo most likely was a victim of the same scheme. They seemed to be getting deeper into this mystery. Soon it would all make sense. The older woman was waiting for it anxiously. Once they had this all figured out, they would be able to have a showdown and end this.

* * *

Author's Note: Damn it's shorter than I had planned. I feel like I'm missing stuff or something. Damn it! The writing! It's missing something! Somebody tell me! Urrrrgh! I'll be fine, just need to get back into this. Too many things to write. DX. Ciao yall! Leave me comments! They are much needed.


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